Divestment road map gets PM, Pranab nod

The disinvestment policy and road map prepared by the disinvestment department, which has already received the stamp of approval from the prime minister and the finance minister, will be discussed by the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs. “The note floated by the disinvestment department will now go to the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA). The committee will discuss it this Thursday or the next at the latest before announcing it,” said an official in the department of disinvestment, who requested anonymity as he was not authorised to speak to the media. Addressing newspersons in Delhi in last month, the finance minister had said he was confident that he would be able to persuade the naysayers among allies to give up their traditional stance on disinvestment. “I’ve handled the coalition members for so many years. I’ll handle this issue. I’ll manage them (the coalition partners) just as I’ve done in the past,” he said in response to specific queries on whether the government would be able to get its disinvestment programme back on track in the face of stiff opposition from allies such as Trinamool and DMK. Sidhartha Pradhan, joint secretary at the department of disinvestment, told the media in Mumbai last week that the government is looking to offload stake in at least five state-run companies during the rest of the year.