New Delhi: The government has achieved around 78 per cent of its FY27 budget target for disinvestment and asset monetisation within the first five months of the financial year, raising Rs 62,124 crore through various capital receipt measures.
The government has so far raised Rs 55,757 crore through minority stake sales in nine public sector undertakings (PSUs), including major transactions in Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) and Coal India. The amount also includes proceeds from the strategic sale of Indian Medicines Pharmaceuticals Corporation Ltd and remittances from the Specified Undertaking of the Unit Trust of India (SUUTI).
More than half of the disinvestment proceeds came from the government’s 6.5 per cent stake sale in LIC, which fetched Rs 31,515 crore. A 2 per cent stake sale in Coal India raised around Rs 5,542 crore, while the 6.01 per cent stake dilution in NHPC generated Rs 4,357 crore for the exchequer.
Earlier this week, the government raised another Rs 3,041 crore through the sale of a 6 per cent stake in Hindustan Copper.
Other entities where the government has undertaken disinvestment include Central Bank of India, NLC India, General Insurance Corporation of India (GIC), Indian Railway Finance Corporation (IRFC) and Cochin Shipyard, besides Hindustan Copper.
In addition to stake sales, the government raised Rs 6,367 crore through asset monetisation via an Infrastructure Investment Trust (InvIT). With this, total capital receipts from disinvestment and asset monetisation have reached Rs 62,124 crore, compared with the full-year budget target of Rs 80,000 crore for FY27.
A strategic sale of IDBI Bank is also under consideration. Following an earlier unsuccessful attempt to sell the lender, the government has received revised bids from Dubai-based Emirates NBD and Fairfax Financial Holdings, led by Prem Watsa.
The government’s increased focus on disinvestment and asset monetisation comes amid concerns over expenditure potentially exceeding budget estimates due to higher energy and fertiliser import bills. The government has set a fiscal deficit target of 4.3 per cent of GDP for FY27.
Separate disinvestment targets have not been set since the Revised Estimate (RE) for 2023-24. However, the government budgeted Rs 30,000 crore, Rs 33,000 crore, Rs 33,837 crore and Rs 80,000 crore under Miscellaneous Capital Receipts for RE 2023-24, RE 2024-25, RE 2025-26 and Budget Estimate (BE) 2026-27, respectively.
IANS
