Boost For Govt's Privatisation Push: Multiple EoIs Received For Disinvestment Of Neelachal Ispat Nigam Limited

In a big fillip for the government's privatisation push, multiple expressions of interest (EoIs) have been received from bidders for the sale of Centre's stake in Neelachal Ispat Nigam Limited (NINL).

Sharing the development, Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM)'s Secretary Tuhin Kanta Pandey said on Monday (29 March) that the transaction has now moved to the second stage.

NINL is a joint venture between several central public sector undertakings MMTC, NMDC, BHEL, MECON and two Odisha government-owned undertakings OMC and IPICOL, reports Economic Times.

The Union Cabinet headed by Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi had cleared the strategic disinvestment of equity shareholding of the aforementioned companies in NINL in January last year, following which DIPAM had in January this year invited the preliminary bids. The last date for bid submission was 29 March.

The NINL has set up a 1.1-million-ton Integrated Iron and steel plant at Kalinganagar, Duburi, District-Jajpur, in Orissa. NINL has its own captive power plant to meet the internal power requirement and air separation unit for producing oxygen, nitrogen and argon. The NINL is having own captive iron ore mines which is under development.

Meanwhile, it should be noted that the government is also in the process of disinvesting its stake in several other PSUs.

Of these, the disinvestment process for Air India, Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL), Pawan Hans, Bharat Earth Movers Limited (BEML) and Shipping Corporation of India (SCI) have entered the second stage.

(With inputs from IANS)