As part of the Indian Government’s divestment plan an 8.38% stake in the mining company National Mining Development Corporation (NMDC) will be sold.
The stake will be sold through a Follow-on Public Offer (FPO) which is expected to raise US$3.02 billion and the government will use these funds for social sector schemes. Currently, the government has a 98.38 per cent share in NMDC.
The other three FPOs that the government has planned for coming months include those of National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC), Rural  Electrification Corporation (REC) and Satluj Jal Vidyut Nigam Limited (SJVNL).
Incorporated in 1958 as a Government of India fully-owned public enterprise, NMDC is under the administrative control of the Ministry of Steel. The company has been involved in the exploration of a wide range of minerals including iron ore, copper, rock phosphate, limestone, dolomite, gypsum, bentonite, magnesite, diamond, tin, tungsten, graphite, beach sands, etc.
NMDC is India's single largest iron ore producer and exporter, and is presently producing about 30 million tonnes of iron ore from 3 fully mechanized mines - Bailadila Deposit-14/11C and Bailadila Deposit-5, 10/11A in Chhattisgarh State, and Donimalai Iron Ore Mines in Karnataka State.
NMDC also has the only mechanized diamond mine in the country with annual capacity of 1.00 lakh carats at Panna in Madhya  Pradesh State. The mine was made non-operational on August 22, 2005, as per the directives of the government's Pollution Control Board. The issues have now been resolved and formal orders were received on June 19, 2009, to restart mining operations.