The mining ministry is in favour of divesting 10 per cent stake in National Aluminium Company [Get Quote].

The department of divestment, however, has proposed to keep the limit at 20 per cent. But no final decision had been taken in this regard, Minister of Mines Sis Ram Ola said on Monday.

Replying to a question in the Rajya Sabha, Ola said the department of divestment had sent a proposal to the mining ministry in April this year, seeking its views on off-loading 20 per cent stake in the PSU. "This ministry favours 10 per cent divestment in Nalco," Ola said.

The government currently owns 87.15 per cent stake in the company. The idea of divestment in Nalco had been proposed by the National Democratic Alliance government, but was shot down because of political opposition.

The original plan was to sell a 29.15 per cent stake in the company and hand over management control to a strategic buyer.

There had been plans to sell a further 10 per cent to domestic investors, 20 per cent through an American depository receipt issue, and 2 per cent to employees.

The finance ministry again revived the proposal. It wrote to the ministry of mines to consider selling off 20 per cent government stake in Nalco. The ministry of mines is yet to officially respond to it.

Nalco, which is raising its bauxite mines capacity from 4.8 million tonne per annum to 6.3 million tonne, alumina capacity from 1.575 million tonne to 2.1 million tonne, and aluminium production capacity from 345,000 tonne to 460,000 tonne annually, would require funds, and, therefore, company executives said they favoured the company being allowed to raise money itself.