India Tourism Development Corporation (ITDC), a Central Public Sector Enterprises under the Tourism Ministry, could be the first in line to be divested strategically, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said here on Thursday. “When I say strategic, there are some on which there is no difficulty in even strategic sales. I think the Ministry of Tourism themselves may take some initiatives,” Jaitley said at a press conference.

At present, ITDC has a network of eight Ashok Group of hotels, five joint venture hotels, one restaurant, 11 transport units, nine duty-free shops at airports and seaports, besides managing a hotel at Bharatpur and a restaurant at Kosi on behalf of the Department of Tourism.

The Finance Ministry has budgeted ₹28,500 crore to be realised through strategic sale of CPSEs during the current fiscal.

Strategic sale means shedding over 51 per cent stake and management control to a strategic partner.

The previous NDA regime had sold shares through strategic sale (involving an effective transfer of control and management to a private entity) and through an offer for sale to the public. The PSUs in which equity was offloaded include Balco, HZL, CMC, ITDC, VSNL, Maruti Suzuki, Jessop & Company, Hotel Corporation of India and Indian Petrochemicals.

The Ministry also plans to raise ₹41,000 crore through selling minority stake in CPSEs, over and above the target for strategic sale.

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