Further Stake Sale in Coal India to meet SEBI Guidelines

The government will go for further stake sale in Coal India in due course to meet market regulator SEBI’s guidelines on public shareholding, Coal and Power Minister Piyush Goyal said on Wednesday.

“We have to fulfill SEBI guidelines. In due course you will hear about it (stake sale),” Goyal told reporters here on the sidelines of the launch event of the National Transmission Asset Management Centre (NTAMC) of Power Grid Corp.

While the government currently holds around 80 percent stake in Coal India, as per SEBI guidelines, there should be a minimum 25 percent public shareholding in all listed companies. The government divested 10 percent stake in Coal India in January 2015, which fetched the exchequer Rs.22,557.3 crore.

Coal India employee unions, however, have been protesting against further disinvestment in the state miner. The NTAMC, a modern technology in the field of power transmission launced here, was dedicated to the nation by Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar.

In this connection, Goyal said that the smart city project has started in Gurgaon on Wednesday. “In the next one year we will make Gurgaon a smart city in power distribution. Power Grid Corp may take a lead in developing smart grid leading to a smart city for Gurgaon,” he said. (IANS)