Buoyed by the success of divestment this fiscal until now, the government has set a target of Rs 54,000 crore in the Union Budget 2013-14 and fiscal deficit at 4.8 per cent in fiscal 2013-14.

NEW DELHI: The government has decided to sell 12.5 per cent stake in fertiliser maker Rashtriya Chemicals and Fertilisers to raise Rs 300 crore at Rs 40 a piece by March in addition to a minority stake sale in National Aluminium Company (Nalco) and 

Steel Authority of IndiaBSE -0.73 % (SAIL) as part of itsdisinvestmentprogramme. 


The empowered group of ministers will meet on Wednesday to decide RCF's offer price, people with direct knowledge of the development said. 

Responding to queries of citizens about the Budget in a Google+ Hangout on Monday, finance minister P Chidambaram said, "We have got another Rs 14,000 crore lined up where we will sell residual stake of government in non-government companies. SUUTI has three companies. There are a couple of other companies. Residual stake of the government is very little. We don't have a stake in management; we don't wish to have control. That stake is there for many years. Some of that will be disinvested too." 

With the help of these three stake sales the government is expected to achieve a total of around Rs 26,000 crore in FY13, the largest fund-raising in a single year after the disinvestment programme started in 1992. Last week, the government completed road shows to sell 12.15 per cent in Nalco. The sale process will start from March 11. 

The government plans to complete the sale of 10.82 per cent in SAIL before March, 31, 2013, two persons familiar with the development said. Disinvestment of minority stakes is the key to government's attempt to contain its fiscal deficit at 5.2 per cent of gross domestic product for the fiscal March 2013.