Nationalisation, consolidation and privatisation

Merely bringing down the government stake below 51 per cent may not find any taker for the PSBs. Is the government ready to give up its powers?

In a recent interview with this newspaper, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman compared privatisation of banks and insurance companies with the Rath Yatra.

“So much effort goes in searching for a tree, then it is chopped, then it is brought with fanfare, and there are specific days when the wheel is made …,” she has said, referring to the arduous process that the government needs to go through for privatisation of public sector banks.

Let’s extend the simile of Rath Yatra. This was the case in July 1969 when a set of private banks was nationalised. Now, we are getting ready