The Union Cabinet has approved a listing of 11 state-run companies, including five subsidiaries of the Railways. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, in his Budget speech had announced to list subsidiaries of Railways. He had said, “Listing of public sector enterprises will foster accountability and unlock true value of these companies. The government will put in place a revised mechanism and procedure to ensure time bound listing of identified CPSEs on stock exchanges.”
The five subsidiaries are Ircon International, Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation, Rail Vikas Nigam, Indian Railway Finance Corporation, and RITES. The listing of PSUs will be through public offer of shares up to 25 per cent of government holding, which may include offer of fresh shares for raising resources from market. However, actual disinvestment of each CPSE, along with mode of raising resources, will be decided on a case-to-case basis by the alternative mechanism headed by the finance minister, a government statement read.
“With a view to ensure wider participation by small investors in CPSE's disinvestment programme, a discount up to 5 per cent on the issue price has also been approved for retail investors and eligible employees of 11 CPSEs participating in this offer,” it read.
