Flow of funds to NIF unlikely in near future:FM

New Delhi, Dec 12 (UNI) Finance Minister P Chidambaram today ruled out any flow of disinvestment proceeds to the National Investment Fund (NIF) for the time being saying the process of disinvestment in profit-making Public Sector Undertakings had been put on hold.

''The Prime Minister had sometime back announced that the process be put on hold till consultations are complete, so at the moment I do not expect any funds accruing to NIF,'' Mr Chidambaram told the Rajya Sabha during the Question Hour.

The NIF had been constituted last year to park the proceeds from disinvestment of equity in Central Public Sector Undertakings for spending in social sectors like health and education.

The Finance Minister said 75 per cent of the proceeds accruing to to NIF would be used for select education, health and employment schemes while the remaining 25 per cent would be invested in loss-making PSUs to revive them.

Replying to a supplemenatry, he said the NIF was intended to be a corpus of funds resulting from the proceeds of disinvestment in PSUs, but no accrual to the corpus has taken place so far and all money has gone to the Consolidated Fund of India.

UNI NAZ RP ND1948