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ONGC to buy 51% stake in HPCL, government to exceed divestment target (Lead)
New Delhi, Jan 20 (IANS) State-run ONGC will acquire the government’s 51.11 per cent equity share-holding in HPCL for Rs 36,915 crore, helping it exceed its divestment target for the current financial year.
The stake sale would also help the government boost state revenue and bridge the fiscal deficit at a time when shortfall in GST collections led to India’s fiscal deficit for the first eight months of 2017-18 reaching Rs 6.12 lakh crore or 112 per cent of the full year’s target.
“The Government of India has entered into an agreement with Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Ltd (ONGC) today (Saturday) for strategic sale of its 51.11 per cent equity share-holding in Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd (HPCL) at a consideration of Rs 36,915 crore,” an official statement said.
Through the single share sale, the Centre would be able to meet half of its disinvestment target of Rs 72,500 crore through a single action taking the total receipts close to Rs 92,000 crore.
According to the Department of Investment and Public Asset Management data, the government had earned total receipts worth Rs 54,337.60 crore before this deal out of the total budgeted receipts of Rs 72,500 crore.
With quite a few other disinvestment proposals lined up in the coming months, the target may be revised to over Rs one lakh crore.
The government said that ONGC had proposed to acquire the Centre’s existing equity shareholding in HPCL in line with the budget announcement.
Accordingly, the Union Cabinet, in its meeting held in July last year, gave “in-principle” approval to the proposal and decided to set up an alternative mechanism to decide on the price, timing and the terms and conditions of the strategic sale.
“The Alternative mechanism under the Chairmanship of Finance Minister (Arun Jaitley) in its meeting today (Saturday) approved the price bid of ONGC and the terms and conditions of the sale,” it said.
Through this acquisition, ONGC will become India’s first vertically integrated “oil major” company, having presence across the entire value chain.
According to the statement, the integrated entity will have advantage of having enhanced capacity to bear higher risks, take higher investment decisions and neutralising the impact of volatility of global crude oil prices.
“In this process, ONGC has acquired significant mid-stream and downstream capacity and will attain economies of scale at various levels of operations,” it said.
Through this economic consolidation, HPCL will join as a member of an integrated oil and gas major group. This will help it in further leveraging synergy at various levels of vertical value chains and look for economic consolidation within and outside the group.
HPCL will continue to be a Central Public Sector Enterprise (CPSE).
In fact, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had underlined the need of efficient management of government investments in CPSEs during the review in February 2016.
The Centre accordingly expanded the approach from disinvestment to investment and public asset management.
As part of investment management strategy, Government decided to explore possibilities of consolidation, mergers and acquisitions within CPSE space.
–IANS
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Lucknow: Vishal Singh, a renowned social worker from Lucknow, also known as Foodman, has once again made India proud. He was honored by the Happy Hands Gloves Cooperative Limited Company in Korathai, Thailand, for his work with the Hunger Free World Mission.
The Hunger Free World Mission’s meeting was held in Korathai, Thailand, under Vishal Singh’s leadership. Representatives from several countries, including Mr. Raja Dwivedi (Managing Director of Happy Hands Gloves Limited), Thailand Coordinator Mr. Raja Mishra, and member Mr. Varun Singh, attended the event.
Under Vishal Singh’s leadership, the attendees took a pledge to work together toward creating a hunger-free world.
Speaking on the occasion, Vishal Singh explained that the main goal of the Hunger Free World Mission is social participation. He said the mission is not just about feeding people but also about meeting other basic needs of those who are struggling. The mission focuses on helping families of terminally ill patients in hospitals by providing food and shelter. It also works to fulfill essential needs like education, jobs, and care for the elderly.
For the last 16 years, the Vijay Sri Foundation has been providing free services, benefiting thousands of people. Vishal Singh highlighted that the mission aims to gain global recognition like other organizations such as WHO, WWF, and Red Cross, which work for social causes.
During this meeting, Vishal Singh was appointed as the Chairman of the Hunger Free World Mission by representatives from various countries. They also discussed holding regular meetings in different countries to push the mission forward.
Business tycoon Dr. Abhishek Verma has also supported this humanitarian mission, vowing to promote the idea of “Seva Parmo Dharma” (Service is the highest duty) worldwide. Vishal Singh praised him, stating that people like Dr .Abhishek Verma inspire others to work for the betterment of society.
Recently, Romania’s Ambassador, Mr . Daniela Sezonov Ţane, invited Vishal Singh to the Romanian Embassy in Delhi, where they discussed the mission in detail. Impressed by his humanitarian work, she honored Vishal Singh and invited him to Romania to take the mission forward .
Food man Vishal Singh has been serving the people of India for the past 16 years. Through the Vijay Sri Foundation, he provides free meals to cancer patients & their families ,shelter, and education for women & children along with running free old-age homes in Lucknow.
In addition to his humanitarian work, Vishal Singh also addresses issues like crime and corruption through his role as Chairman of Seva Path Media and Managing Director of Vijay Sri Foundation.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Vishal Singh and his team worked tirelessly to provide food and help to the needy, including starving children, elderly citizens, and pregnant women. Despite contracting the virus himself, he continued to assist others after his recovery. He even created a life-saving oxygen regulator using household items, which was praised by doctors both in India and abroad.
In his address at the meeting, Vishal Singh spoke about his mission to create a hunger-free world. He pointed out that India’s large population, along with issues like unemployment and poverty, has caused the country to fall on the Hunger Index. He urged people to contribute just one handful of grains daily to help create a hunger-free world.
He concluded by saying that through social participation, we can empower the people around us, meet their basic needs, and work together to build a stronger, more prosperous, and developed society.
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