Cabinet approves sale of stakes in BPCL, 4 other PSUs

New Delhi: The Cabinet on Wednesday approved the sale of government's stake in five blue-chip PSUs, including Bharat Petroleum Corp Ltd (BPCL), Shipping Corp of India (SCI) and Container Corp of India along with transfer of management control, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said.

The government will sell its 53.29 per cent stake in BPCL after taking out Numaligarh refinery from its portfolio, she added. She also said the Cabinet has approved cutting the government's stake in select PSUs below 51 per cent while retaining management control. Moreover, providing relief to telecom firms, the Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved a moratorium of two years for spectrum payments, sources said. The move to defer payments for 2020-21 and 2021-22 will give Rs 42,000 crore relief to Bharti Airtel, Vodafone Idea and Reliance Jio, they said.

Meanwhile, the Cabinet also gave its approval to the Food Ministry's recent decision to import 1.2 lakh tonnes of onions. See P13