COLUMNISTS
ECONOMY
INDUSTRY
FINANCE
ARCHIVES

Govt to divest in Indian Oil, Indian Airlines

Finance Minister Yashwant Sinha said today that to expedite the process of disinvestment in the public sector undertakings, the government has decided to disinvest specified portions of equity from Indian Oil Corporation, Gas Authority of India Ltd, Videsh Sanchar Nigam Ltd, Concor.

Sinha also announced the restructuring the capital of Indian Airlines and to undertake a phased disinvestment in this company, over three years, bringing the government's equity holding down to 49 per cent.

He emphasised that the interest of workers would be protected in all cases. The government will provide a safety net to the workers of enterprises destined for closure by providing a liberal and attractive compensastion package prior to closure. He proposed to provide 45 days wages for each completed year of service instead of the current provision of 15 days wages under the Voluntary Retirement Scheme package. This would be subject to the maximum wage or salary accruable on the basis of the balance of years of service left to all the workers of these PSUs.

Budget '98