Seven public sector steel plants up for sale

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, March 13

Setting at rest confusion about the status of steel industry, the Centre stated in the ongoing session of the Rajya Sabha that steel was in “non-strategic sector”.

MoS, Finance, Anurag Thakur also divulged important details of GoI’s plan of disinvestment from the sector where government-owned companies were having a strong presence.

Thakur said seven public sector plants had been identified for disinvestment. These are Rastriya Ispat Nigam Limited, Vishakhapatnam ( known as Vizag Steel Plant), Salem Steel Plant, Salem (TN), Neelachal Ispat Nigam Limited, Duburi, Orissa, NMDC Integrated Steel Plant in Nagarnar, Chhattisgarh, Ferro Scrap Nigam Limited, Bhilai, Chhattisgarh, Alloy Steel Plant, Durgapur and Visvesvaraya Iron and Steel Plant, Bhadravathi, Karnataka.

Thakur said the GoI had partially sold its stake in SAIL (Steel Authority of India Limited), accorded the highest status of “Maharatna” by the GoI earlier for its performance.

Thakur said to increase shareholding of the public and to raise disinvestment receipts, the government divested 10 per cent stake out of its shareholding in Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL) by Offer for Sale (OFS) of shares through stock exchange mechanism in January 2021 thereby aggregating Rs 2737.56 crore as disinvestment proceeds. The GoI stake in SAIL stands reduced to 65 per cent consequent to this transaction, Thakur said.

According to the minister, the public sector enterprise (PSE) policy notified on February 4, 2021, has classified existing public sector commercial enterprises under “strategic” and “non-strategic” sectors.

“Steel manufacturing is in the non-strategic sector,” Thakur said.