Disinvestment proceeds used for funding social welfare programmes

NEW DELHI: Proceeds from the disinvestment of government's stake in PSUs were used to fund various social welfare programmes like MGNREGS, Minister of Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises Praful Patel told Rajya Sabha.

The disinvestment proceeds were used for funding the capital expenditure, under the social sector schemes, of the government including Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) and Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURN), he said in a written reply.

The government mopped up Rs 22,144 crore from divesting its stake in six state-owned companies like CIL, Engineers India, SAIL and MOIL during 2010-11, Patel said.

In the last fiscal, it has garnered as much as Rs 15,199 crore from its stake sale in CIL followed by Power Grid Corporation Rs 3,721 crore, SJVN Rs 1,062 crore, EIL Rs 959 crore, MOIL Rs 618 crore and Shipping Corporation of India Rs 582 crore.

For the 2011-12 fiscal, the government has set a target to garner Rs 40,000 crore from its stake sale in PSUs.

It has been able to raise only Rs 1,145 crore through a stake sale in Power Finance Corporation (PFC) in the current fiscal so far.

Volatile stock market conditions have forced the government to delay proposed stake sales in PSUs.

In this fiscal, the government plans to divest its stake in ONGC, BHEL, RINL, Hindustan Aeronautics and NBCC, among other companies.