IRCTC Will Be Privatized Now; Atleast 25% Of IRCTC Will Be Sold To Private Firms

By Radha Joglekar Last updated Aug 20, 2020

IRCTC Will Be Privatized Now; Atleast 25% Of IRCTC Will Be Sold To Private Firms In Coming Days

After asking private players to run several trains for privatization, the Government is now putting up IRCTC as a part of its disinvestment plan.

The Government will be putting up its stake in the IRCTC for sale.

As we all know, the first privately run train Tejas Express is run by IRCTC and was flagged off last year in October.

Read on to find out all the details about this new development!

Government To Put Up Sale Of Its Stake In IRCTC; Bidding To Begin On September 11

The government will be offering its stake in the Indian Railways’ ticketing arm, IRCTC (Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation) through the offer of sale (OFS) route. IRCTC is the subsidiary of the national transporter that takes care of catering, tourism, and online ticketing operations.

As per reports, bids have been invited to appoint merchant bankers and selling bankers for the potential deal by the department of investment and public asset management (Dipam). The pre-bid meeting will be conducted on September 3 and the bidding process is set to begin on September 11.

IRCTC is a subsidiary that is wholly owned by the Indian Railways, and now, 87.4% of the stake owned by the Government will be put up for bids. The Government is also planning to allot the shares to employees of the IRCTC who are willing and eligible for it.

Shares Might Be Allotted To Employees Of IRCTC; Criteria For Bid Set

These shares will be allotted at discount to the issue or the lowest cut off price which is also the discovered price. This will be done after the OFS has been completed.

In the bid document, the Government has said, “The percentage and extent shall be decided in due course.”

The criteria set for the bidders, they should have managed and completed a minimum of at least one domestic equity issue worth Rs. 1000 or more between the period of April 2017 and June 2020.

The disinvestment plans of the Government have had a few modifications recently. The Centre has also asked its officials to quicken the process of privatization of 4 PSUs, viz., Punjab and Sind Bank, Bank of Maharashtra, UCO Bank, and IDBI Bank within the FY 20-21.