Big relief for Chidambaram as PSU chiefs promise to meet capex plans, maintain dividend

Finance minister Chidambaram

IN A huge relief to government, heads of leading PSUs have assured finance minister P Chidambaram that they will try to meet their capital expenditure (Capex) plans this fiscal and maintain the dividend paid last fiscal. There will be some shortfall, however, in the capex plans of the oil PSU due to delayed pipeline projects...

in south India. Petroleum secretary Vivek Rae informed media after the meeting.
ONGC CMD Sudhir Vasudeva, SAIL CMD CS Verma and Coal India chairman S Narsing Rao also attended the meeting with Chidambaram.
"There will be shortfall in our (petroleum PSUs') capex target because our pipeline in south India has been stuck for various reasons... There could be some reduction in capex of GAIL", Rae said. Cash-rich ONGC will, however, pay 195 percent dividend to the exchequer.
GAIL will give around Rs 700 crore as dividend, almost the same amount the Maharatna company delivered last fiscal.
ONGC chief Vasudevs said: "We will achieve our annual capex plan. There was a discussion on special dividend. I can't commit on special dividend because we will have to discuss in board. Last year, we had paid dividend in two tranches, total dividend was 190 per cent. We will have to maintain the same this year also."
The Maharatna company is likely to pump in over Rs 35,049 crore this fiscal on exploration and production of oil and gas. This is four percent more than its capital expenditure in 2012-13.
Coal India chairman Rao said: "We are on track. Our capex target is Rs 5,000 crore we will be spending Rs 5,000 crore."
SAIL chairman Verma said: "We will achieve this years capex plan. Our board will decide on special dividend."
SAIL plans to spend Rs 13,000 crore in the current fiscal to fund its ongoing expansion, which will take its installed capacity to over 24 million tonnes per annum (mtpa).