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Disinvestment given low priority

By Our Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI, JULY 8. Public sector disinvestment has not only been given low priority in the 2004-5 budget proposals, but a special board is sought to be set up to restructure public enterprises. Declaring disinvestment and privatisation to be "useful economic tools", the Finance Minister, P. Chidambaram, has taken credit for only Rs. 4,000 crore of revenue through this process as against Rs. 14,500 crore by the NDA Government in the interim budget for this year.

Even this will be possible largely through a public issue of the NTPC by which the Government will disinvest about five per cent of its shareholding in the company. "This and some other cases which are under examination are expected to yield Rs. 4,000 crore in the current year," he said.

He assured the House, however, that while the disinvestment revenues would be part of the Consolidated Fund of India, he would report while presenting next year's budget on the manner in which these revenues had been used for social sector schemes.

He said a Board for Reconstruction of Public Sector Enterprises (BRPSE) was proposed to be established to advise the Government on measures to be taken to restructure public enterprises including cases where disinvestment or closure or sale was justified.

He noted that as long as the Government retained control over the enterprise and its public sector character was not affected, the Government might dilute its equity and raise resources to meet the social needs of the people.

Stressing that he took the restructuring business seriously, Mr. Chidambaram said Hindustan Antibiotics Limited would be given financial support for restructuring while a rescue package of Rs. 508 crore had been worked out for Indian Telephone Industries to bring it out of the net of the BIFR.

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