While most lawyers are preparing for the New Year party, lawyers from Amarchand Mangaldas, Luthra & Luthra, S&R Associates, FoxMandal Little, Khaitan & Co., Dua Associates and Crawford Bayley will be in the Finance Ministry for day-long presentations. These top law firms are bidding to be appointed as legal advisors to the Government on the National Mineral Development Corporation (NMDC) divestment process.

The Government is proposing to offload 8.38 percent of its stake in NMDC and is expected to raise about Rs. 23,000 crore ($4.7 Billion), the biggest stake sale in 18 years of divestment in India. At present, the Government holds about 98.38 percent in the Navratna mineral company, with the balance being in the hands of institutional investors, employees and the general public.

Amarchand has already successfully bagged the role of legal advisor to the Government in NHPC and Oil India's public offerings earlier this year.

The government's disinvestment initiatives have speeded up as the year draws to a close, with two more PSUs slated for divestment early next year. The bidding for advisory roles in the divestment of a 5 percent equity stake in National Thermal Power Corporation and a 10 percent stake in Satluj Jal Vidyut Nigam Limited (SJVN) have been fiercely competitive, with Amarchand, Luthra, S&R Associates, FoxMandal, Khaitan, Wadia Ghandy and Crawford Bayley pitching for the role. FoxMandal Little have been appointed the legal advisors to the Government of India in the SJVN divestment, along with their international consortium partners, K&L Gates LLP.