New Delhi, Oct 14 The government is likely to exceed the budgeted disinvestment target in the current fiscal year for the first time in eight years since 2018-19, aided by the Rs 52,878-crore strategic sale of IDBI Bank.
The government had budgeted a disinvestment and asset monetisation target of Rs 80,000 crore for the full fiscal year.
So far, it has already raised Rs 55,757 crore through minority stake sale in 9 public sector units, including the big-ticket ones like LIC and Coal India, as well as strategic sale of Indian Medicines Pharmaceuticals Corporation Ltd and remittances from SUUTI.
On Wednesday, the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs approved Fairfax subsidiary M/s 10955230 Canada Inc. as the strategic buyer for the government’s 30.48 per cent stake (for about Rs 26,620 crore) and state-run Life Insurance Corporation of India’s (LIC) 30.24 per cent stake (for about Rs 26,440 crore).
The proceeds from the strategic sale would come into the exchequer once the transaction is completed, which is likely before the end of FY27.
Taking together the current disinvestment mop-up and the likely money from IDBI Bank, the stake sale proceeds as of today stand at over Rs 82,000 core.
DISINVESTMENT TARGET HISTORICALLY:
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Fixing separate disinvestment targets has been discontinued since the Revised Estimate (RE) of FY 2023-24. However, Rs 30,000 crore, Rs 33,000 crore, Rs 33,837 crore and Rs 80,000 crore were budgeted under Miscellaneous Capital Receipts, which includes disinvestment and asset monetisation, for RE 2023-24, RE 2024-25, RE 2025-26 and BE 2026-27, respectively.
In 2021-22 and 2022-23, as against the RE of Rs 78,000 crore and Rs 50,000 crore set in the respective budgets, the government had actually raised Rs 13,534 crore and Rs 35,294 crore, respectively.
In 2019-20 and 2020-21 as against RE of Rs 65,000 crore and Rs 32,000 crore, the actual realisation stood at Rs 50,300 crore and Rs 32,886 crore, respectively.
In 2018-19, the government raised Rs 84,972 crore from PSU disinvestment as against the budget target of Rs 80,000 crore.
(PTI News)
