New Delhi: The government has realised an amount of Rs 26,639.33 crore during the current financial year (as on July 22), which includes Rs 20,272.40 crore from disinvestment through Offer for Sale (OFS) of Central Bank of India, Coal India Ltd, NHPC Limited, NLC India Limited, General Insurance Corporation of India, Indian Railway Finance Corporation Ltd and Cochin Shipyard Ltd, and another Rs 6,366.93 crore from asset monetisation, the Parliament was informed on Monday.
Fixing separate disinvestment targets have been discontinued since financial year 2023- 24. However, Rs 80,000 crore has been kept under miscellaneous capital receipts for budget estimate (BE) 2026-27, which includes estimated receipts on account of management of equity investments and public assets through various mechanisms, Minister of State for Finance, Pankaj Chaudhary, said in a written reply to a question in the Lok Sabha.
Disinvestment is an ongoing process and execution of specific transactions hinges upon market conditions, domestic and global economic outlook, geopolitical factors, investor interest and administrative feasibility. Further, given the market-sensitive nature of disinvestment transactions, drawing up timeline for disinvestment is not feasible, the minister stated.
Disinvestment proceeds during just a little over three months in the current financial year (FY27) have reached the highest in four years, data from the Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM) shows.
There are 68 Central public sector enterprises (CPSEs) listed on stock exchanges. The value of government shareholding in these companies is over Rs 22.80 lakh crore. Apart from these, 16 public financial institutions (banks and insurance companies) are also listed and the value of government shareholding in these institutions is around Rs 19 lakh crore.
Data also shows that seven offers for sale through stock exchanges (OFS) include Central Bank of India (over Rs 2,200 crore), Coal India (over Rs 5,500 crore), NHPC (over Rs 4,300 crore), NLC (over Rs 1,200 crore), GIC (over Rs 3,000 crore), IRFC (over Rs 2,000 crore) and Cochin Shipyard (over Rs 1,700 crore).
OFS is a mechanism that allows promoters or major shareholders of a listed company to sell their shares to the public through the stock exchange platform. It requires less documentation and is much faster than IPO (Initial Public Offering) or FPO (Follow-on Public Offering).
Asset monetisation through InvITs and REITs has also helped unlock funds for investments into new projects and attracting global investors. InvITs are special funds that let investors invest in big infrastructure projects.
Earlier, only large institutions could access such opportunities, but InvITs open them up to ordinary investors as well. By pooling money, they create a diversified portfolio of projects that can generate steady income and long-term growth. At the same time, they allow infrastructure developers to tap into household savings, helping finance essential projects.
(IANS)
