Boosters Coming Thick & Fast A week before August 15, Chidambaram bringing a whiff of freedom at North Block Entry Curbs Lifted at MoF

PC looks to revive share sale in big PSUs; SAIL, NTPC, Coal India & NMDC may be in the line   PChidambaram, the newly appointed finance minister, is planning to revive share sales of listed PSUs, primarily those in which public holding is less than 25%, hoping to send out a strong signal of his intent to improve government finances and boost investor sentiment.  Companies whose shares could be sold include steelmaker SAIL, India's largest power generator NTPC and mining companies Coal India and NMDC. An official familiar with the minister's thinking said he was of the view that partial privatisation, referred to as disinvestment, could boost markets.  The Sensex has been the thirdbest performer among major Asian economies so far this year, generating a return of around 14% since January 1, 2012, compared with 18% and 16% by Thailand and Singapore, respectively, while Hong Kong's equity markets went up 9% during the same period. But the markets have fluctuated wildly, largely on account of global factors, though some of the see-sawing has been driven by the market's views on the government's capacity to enact reforms. The primary market is virtually frozen, with . 1,369 crore raised since the beginning of the year, reflecting the pessimism that has gripped Indian business about the future of Asia's third-largest economy. Besides listed state-run companies, some unlisted PSUs could also be listed, boosting the primary market.  "The valuations are not stretched in case of most blue-chip companies; FII flow has been positive; redemption in mutual funds has gone down; and Irda is soon expected to raise the investment limit in a single company," said Rajesh Cheruvu, chief investment officer-India at Royal Bank of Scotland Private Banking. Road Map for Fiscal Consolidation  Chidambaram, who was switched to the finance ministry from home, has already held several rounds of discussions in order to come up with a plan for disinvestment, the official said.  The 66-year-old politician from Tamil Nadu is keen to avoid the fiasco that characterised the disinvestment programme for the year ended March 31, 2012, when receipts fell well short of the budgeted Rs 40,000 crore, contributing significantly to the fiscal slippage.  Despite a rushed, and hugely controversial auction of ONGC shares subscribed largely by LIC, the state-owned life insurer, the government could raise only Rs 13,894 crore last year, adding to the fiscal deficit that widened to 5.9% of GDP from the 4.7% budgeted, prompting an outlook downgrade from Standard and Poor's, a ratings agency.  The government has budgeted Rs 30,000 crore from disinvestment in the current year, but does not have much to show four months into the financial year apart from cabinet approval for a stake sale in SAIL. The budget for 2012-13, presented by the then finance minister Pranab Mukherjee, now President of India, had pegged fiscal deficit at 5.1% of GDP for 2012-13.  "Reviving the disinvestment process is key to bridging the fiscal gap, but willfirst require boosting investor sentiment. The new FM is clearly on that path. Creating an investor-friendly investment regime coupled with some support from RBI will certainly be steps in the right direction," said Tarun Kataria, CEO, Religare Capital Markets.  On Monday, the minister promised a road map for fiscal consolidation for which disinvestment proceeds will be crucial. He has tasked a team headed by Vijay Kelkar, a former finance secretary, with drawing up the road map, which will be adopted by the cabinet much before RBI's next monetary policy review to give comfort to the central bank to cut interest rates.