The government kicked off a blockbuster disinvestment plan, lining up the sale of five public sector units (PSUs), including majority stakes in bluechip oil company Bharat Petroleum Corp Ltd (BPCL) and Shipping Corporation of India. Also on sale will be a 31% stake in Container Corporation of India (Concor) along with management control. Based on current market prices, the sale of stakes in these three firms will fetch the Modi government about Rs 78,400 crore, taking it close to the disinvestment target for the fiscal year. The cabinet committee on economic affairs (CCEA), which met under the chairmanship of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, also cleared the sale of its entire stake in Tehri Hydro Development Corp of India and North Eastern Electric Power Corporation (Neepco) to NTPC. The CCEA also gave in-principle clearance to the reduction of the government’s stake in select public sector units to 51%, “while retaining management control on case-to-case basis, taking into account the government shareholding, and the shareholding of government-controlled institution. On this edition of the big picture we will analyse the strategic disinvestment announced by the government.