Sources at the department of disinvestment (DoD) have ruled out any decision on VSNL and MTNL at the next CCD. Even Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd, whose privatisation is being opposed by the controlling ministry, is not likely to come up at the CCD. Since disinvestment minister, Arun Jaitley is said to have accepted to put Maruti privatisation on hold, the CCD will be left with medium-ticket cases like Hindustan Zinc Ltd, Shipping Corporation of India, IBP, MMTC and STC.

The CCD is expected to discuss the three-year plan that the DoD has prepared. The cabinet committee would also give its formal approval to the 11 PSUs for whose disinvestment it had given in-principle clearance on June 23.

Other companies which the CCD is likely to clear are Sponge Iron India Ltd, Hindustan Organics & Chemicals, MECL, Hindustan Insecticides, and Hotels Ranchi Ashok and Utkal Ashok.

As per the annual disinvestment plan, which was okayed at the last CCD meet, the government will disinvest in 33 PSUs. These PSUs are, however, in various stages of sell-off. In the case of 10 PSUs, including Balco, IPCL, Scooters India Ltd, Nepa Ltd, Bharat Brakes, Hindustan Cables Ltd, Hindustan Teleprinters Ltd and Hindustan Latex, global advisers have been appointed.

For nine others, like Air India, Indian Airlines, ITDC, NFL, MFL and ITDC, the advisers have been finalised but have not been issued the mandate letters. The advisers can start their work only after they get the mandate letters.

A major victory for the DoD at the CCD on June 23 was that the department got the power to appoint global advisers. In the earlier procedure, it was the administrative ministry which was issuing mandate letters to global advisers. Given the well-known reluctance of administrative ministries to stall the privatisation process, it used to take inordinately long periods in appointing global advisers. The tourism ministry, for instance, is sitting on the mandate letter for the last six months, DoD sources told The Financial Express.

The CCD is preparing cabinet notes for individual PSUs where the CCD has given in-principle clearance. The CCD is headed by Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and comprises other ministers like Arun Jaitley, finance minister Yashwant Sinha, minister of heavy industries and public enterprises Manohar Joshi, Planning Commission deputy chairman KC Pant and civil aviation minister Sharad Yadav.