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Centre has received multiple Expressions of Interest (EoI) for the privatisation of Neelachal Ispat Nigam Ltd (NINL).

In a tweet on Monday, Secretary for the Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM) Tuhin Kanta Pandey said that the transaction has moved to the second stage as per schedule.

"Multiple expressions of interest received for privatisation of Neelachal Ispat Nigam Ltd (NINL). The transaction moves ahead to the second stage, on schedule," it said.

Neelachal Ispat Nigam Ltd is a joint venture of MMTC, NMDC, BHEL, MECON and two Odisha government-owned undertakings -- OMC and IPICOL. In January 2020, the Union Cabinet had approved strategic disinvestment of equity shareholding of MMTC (49.78 per cent), NMDC (10.10 per cent), MECON (0.68 per cent), BHEL (0.68 per cent), IPICOL (12.00 per cent) and OMC (20.47 per cent) in the state-run company.

It has set up a 1.1-million-ton Integrated Iron and steel plant at Kalinganagar, Duburi, District-Jajpur, in Orissa. NINL has its own captive power plant to meet the internal power requirement and air separation unit for producing oxygen, nitrogen and argon. The NINL is having own captive iron ore mines which is under development.

This is yet another development in the government's ambitious privatisation plan, after disinvestment process of several PSUs got disrupted last year due to pandemic.

While presenting the Union Budget for FY22, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had said that all the previously announced disinvestment processes will be completed in the next financial year.

During a recent webinar, the Chief Economic Adviser (CEA) K. V. Subramanian also exuded confidence that the disinvestment target of Rs 1.75 lakh crore for the financial year 2021-22 was "imminently achievable".