India will privatise several state-owned companies this financial year after a "long span", said a senior civil servant on Wednesday, listing the national carrier and a fuel company among targets.

       The government wants to complete the privatisation of Air India and BPCL and it is getting "sufficient interest” in the companies, said Tuhin Kanta Pandey, Secretary in the Department of Investment and Public Asset Management.

       “This year we will finally see PSUs being privatised after a long span of 17 years,” he said at the annual session of Confederation of Indian Industries.

       Shipping Corporation of India, Pawan Hans, and Nilanchal Ispat Nigam were other state-owned companies that are being worked upon for privatisation.