In a notification dated 6 July, the government has announced that the Department of Public Enterprises (DPE) will be functioning under the Finance Ministry going forward. The announcement was made right before the Cabinet expansion.
The move aims to boost the aspiring disinvestment programme. So far, DPE was a part of the Ministry of Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises.
The notification is issued as the Government of India (Allocation of Business) Three Hundred and Sixty-First Amendment Rules, 2021. The notification also states that the change shall come to force immediately. Now, DPE is the sixth department under the Finance Ministry.
It is worth recalling the Budget 2021-22 session where Finance Minister Nirmal Sitharaman expressed the agenda of privatisation. Specifically, the minister mentioned that two public sector banks and one general insurance company were to be privatised.
As part of the disinvestment strategy, the government has set the goals of going for an initial public offering (IPO) with respect to LIC and the residual stake of IDBI Bank during the current financial year. A probable figure of Rs.1.75 lakh crore is estimated to be earned from the stake sale in public sector companies and financial institutions during the current financial year.
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