(PTI)
The potential sale of the entire government stake in Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL) could result in a reassessment of linkages between the government and oil marketing companies, Fitch group firm India Ratings and Research said on November 5.Traditionally, oil marketing companies (OMCs) have been used by the government to push its inclusive agenda, the latest being the dole out of free cooking gas (LPG) cylinders to poor women’s households.
BPCL’s stake sale is part of the government’s disinvestment target of Rs 1.05 lakh crore, which also includes divestment of other state-owned companies such as Shipping Corporation of India (SCI), THDC India Ltd and North Eastern Electric Power Corp Ltd, and a 30 percent stake sale in Container Corporation of India.”India Ratings and Research (Ind-Ra) believes a potential sale of the entire government of India stake of 53.3 percent in BPCL could result in a reassessment of linkages between the government and OMCs,” it said in a statement.
