On the heels of the stock markets bleeding of late, a senior Finance Ministry

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official has said a roadmap for the government's stake sale in CPSUs will initially include only select companies, as it is not possible to have a disinvestment programme at one go.

"It is not possible to prepare a roadmap for divestment in the PSUs at one go. It has to be a gradual process. It would be in a phased manner," a Ministry official told PTI.

The BSE Sensex on Friday crashed to a three-month low of falling 2.7 per cent driven mainly by problems of sovereign debt crisis in some European nations like Greece, Spain and Portugal and worried over stimulus exist in the budget.

The NTPC issue could manage only a subdued response even from FIIs and retail investors largely stayed off the offer.

The official further said the divestment department is reviewing the programme to sell government's stake in PSUs and the first roadmap is expected next month.

"We will take a few companies at one time. After disinvestment takes place in those PSUs, we would prepare the roadmap for the next phase," the official added.

The disinvestment department had asked 32 ministries in the middle of December last to identify PSUs in which government could divest some of its stake and had identified over 60 CPSUs for the same.

"Some ministries have already come out with names of some PSUs and we are reviewing it internally," the official added.

The UPA government in its second stint so far has made divestment in NHPC and Oil India, which mopped up Rs 8,600 crore.