The Hindu Business Line : Govt may agree to Nalco selloff conditionally

The Ministry of Mines is agreeable to offload 10 per cent stake in National Aluminium Company Ltd (Nalco) provided that the proceeds are utilised for the company's own expansion plan and not be put into the Consolidated Fund of India.

"We are against disinvestment of profit-making PSUs under the Mines Ministry and Nalco has been doing well. However, we have agreed to Finance Ministry's proposal to offload 10 per cent stake in the PSU, but money accrued from the disinvestment should be re-invested in the company itself," the Mines Minister, Mr Sis Ram Ola, told reporters here on Tuesday.

The Government has proposed to off-load 10 per cent of shares in Nalco in the market which will bring down its stake in the company to 77.15 per cent.

On Bharat Aluminium Company (Balco), he said his Ministry would tread on the path suggested by the Attorney General of India (AGI) and the Law Ministry. The AGI had opined that the shareholders' agreement between Government and its strategic partners in Balco, the Sterlite group, is in violation of the Companies Act and that the Government, if it so decides, can go for a public issue to bring down its stake in Balco.

Minister of State for Mines, Mr T. Subbarami Reddy, said the key constraint impeding the exploration of precious metals like gold was lack of heavy investment, as the private sector did not want to bear the risk associated with it.

He said the mines sector currently contributed Rs 20,000 crore to the national exchequer.

More Stories on : Aluminium | Disinvestment | PSU | National Aluminium Co. Ltd

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