The Modi government, it appears, is on a selling spree. After disinvesting the LIC, Indian Railways, Air India and Telecom, the government is now on course to privatise the iconic Vizag Steel Plant and the BHEL in Hyderabad.
The latest to join the list of disinvestment are four major banks. The government has laid out plans to privatise four state-owned banks to reach its disinvestment targets.
According to Reuters, initially smaller banks with lesser staff would be targeted to ensure that the opposition to the move is muted. At a later stage, bigger banks would be privatised. The banks that would be privatised are – Bank of Maharashtra, Central Bank of India, Indian Overseas Bank and Bank of India.
The total number of employees in these banks is 1.22 lakh. Of these, Bank of India alone accounts for 50000 staff members, while the Central Bank of India has 33000, IOB 26000 and Bank of Maharashtra has 13000 staff members. The privatisation would be set in motion in six months time. But, some sources said that the move could be temporarily stalled if there is stiff opposition.