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Divestment panel to meet soon over HPCL, BPCL

A top official of the divestment ministry said on Wednesday he hoped a key meeting of the privatisation panel would be held soon to approve stake sales in two oil companies that were deferred for three months.

Doubts had surfaced about the government's privatisation drive after it delayed stake sales in Bharat Petroleum Corporation and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation for three months because of Cabinet differences over the selloff campaign.

"I hope it is early. I hope it will be soon," Pradip Baijal, secretary in the divestment ministry, told Reuters when asked whether he expected the Cabinet panel to meet soon to decide on selling stakes in the two oil companies, HPCL and BPCL. He, however, declined to elaborate.

In the past week, hopes of India's stalled privatisation programme getting back on track were revived after Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee backed tough economic reforms and vowed to press ahead with stake sales in state-run firms.

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