The Prime Minister's Office (PMO) is said to have approved NITI Aayog's proposal for shutting down 17 sick or loss-making government companies. It has also approved the second set of Aayog  proposals for strategic sales to reduce government ownership to below 51 percent in about 22 public sector companies. The list of loss-making companies to be closed includes Indian Oil-CREDA Biofuels Ltd and CREDA HPCL Biofuel Ltd, both Jatropha oil-focussed subsidiaries of state-owned petroleum giants. Also on the list are National Jute Manufactures Corporation Limited and its subsidiary, Birds Jute & Export. Bharat Wagon and Engineering is another public sector unit (PSU) that is all set to be shut down. Before these PSUs are shut down, the Centre will offer voluntary retirement to their employees. Indianmandarins has learnt that the second list includes the Miniratna helicopter services operator Pawan Hans Limited, Scooters India Limited, Cement Corporation of India Limited and three plants of the Maharatna Steel Authority of India (SAIL) located at Salem, Durgapur, and Bhadravati. Government companies in the hospital services business and the construction consultancy industry are also on the list of PSUs for strategic disinvestment. To facilitate the matter, the Finance Ministry may approach the Cabinet for its approval separately for each of the strategic sales the PMO has approved. It expects minimum resistance as the administrative ministries were brought on board. Many of the companies being shut down hold vast tracts of land. For instance, CREDA HPCL Biofuel had leased 15,000 hectares of vacant waste/barren land from the government of Chhattisgarh for a period of 30 years for planting jatropha. Such land that had been leased from State governments could be returned with or without a price. Freehold land parcels could either be passed on to the Centre or be auctioned to public or private sector bidders.