The government on Wednesday decided to speed up the process for appointment of merchant bankers for its Rs 400 billion (Rs 40,000 crore) divestment plan.
Appointment of market intermediaries will be taken up simultaneously with the clearance for divestment of stake in a PSU.
"The appointment of merchant bankers and other intermediaries will now be taken up simultaneously with the process of seeking CCEA approval as soon as the minister in charge has approved the case," a statement said after a meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs.
Henceforth, the concerned ministries will be required to simultaneously seek the approval of the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs for both divestment, as well as empanelment of merchant bankers.
With the new procedure, it is expected that the time saved will be optimally utilised in preparing for the process and facilitating divestment, it said.
"The... process will help planning and timing of public offerings in a manner that they are spread out evenly and avoid bunching as far as possible to ensure better response from investors, including retail," the statement said.
Presently, the ministries first seek approval for divestment of a particular PSU and then obtain permission for appointment of merchant bankers, resulting in delays. The government proposes to raise Rs 400 billion (Rs 40,000 crore) during the current fiscal from the sale of equity in public sector undertakings, up from about Rs 250 billion (Rs 25,000 crore) a year ago.
Among the major PSUs which are likely to come out with public issues are Coal India, Indian Oil, MMTC, RINL and Shipping Corporation, Hindustan Copper, Power Grid and Manganese Ore India.
