NEW DELHI: The Indian government may consider selling its equity in state-run
telecom firms Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd. (MTNL) and Videsh Sanchar Nigam
Ltd. (VSNL). only after the Department of Telecom Services is turned into a
company, the disinvestment minister Arun Jaitley said on Friday.
"Our top priority now is that by October 1, the Department of Telecom
Services must be corporatised. It is only after the corporatisation that we will
consider this issue (sale of government equity in MTNL and VSNL)," Arun
Jaitley told Reuters Television in an interview.
The government deferred a decision on the sale of state equity in these two
telecom firms on June 23 when it approved an annual privatization plan for 33
state-run firms.
The government currently owns 56 per cent in MTNL and nearly 53 per cent in
VSNL.
(C) Reuters Limited 2000.