New Delhi: Buoyed by a recent spurt in market prices of PSU shares, the Disinvestment Department has mooted a proposal for mopping up Rs 25,000 crore by making public offers in five major PSUs including Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL), Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) and Gas Authority of India (GAIL).

The move to float initial public offerings (IPO) is part of a strategy chalked out by the Department to raise as much as Rs 25,000 crore from market, official sources told reporters.

The sources said the proposal envisages diluting government equity in BSNL, IOC, GAIL, National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) and Oil and Natural Gas Commission (ONGC).

Asked about the quantum of equity proposed to be offloaded the sources said the figure would vary for different companies. However government equity would not fall below 51 per cent in the companies.

"Different figures have been proposed for each of the companies. However the maximum suggested is around 25 per cent in one case", they added.

The strategy envisaged by Disinvestment Department involves a well-thought-out plan to offer equity to public in a manner so as to ensure that market does not get flooded with such issues.

Earlier Disinvestment Minister Arun Shourie had said that the disinvestment department had proposed a series of measures to Finance Minister Jaswant Singh to take advantage of the spurt in stock prices to mop up large resources for the government.

PTI