SME TImes News Bureau | 10 Jan, 2020
With two months to end the FY20, fiscal
disinvestment proceeds have touched Rs 18,094.59 crore till Jan 9, a meagre
17.23% of the target and if this state of affairs remain till March 31, then
government would miss the target by a whopping Rs 87,000 crore which is now
near impossible to achieve.
The target for fiscal 20 is Rs 1.05 lakh crore.
Updated figures from DIPAM or the sell-off Ministry shows the sell-off proceeds
have touched Rs 18,094.39 crore with the latest addition of RITES Offer For
Sale shere government shed 10% stake fetching Rs 730.33 crore.
The other disinvestments in FY20 so far have been -- Bharat 22 ETF FFO 2
(Further Funds Offer) at Rs 4,368.80 crore and IRCTC listing fetching Rs 637.97
crore. The CPSE ETF FFO-5 has mopped up Rs 10,000 crore and Rail Vikash Nigam
Ltd's IPO received Rs 475.89 crore.
In the beginning of the year, Enemy Shares sale had received Rs 1,881.21 crore.
DIPAM will be issuing Expression of Interest for Air India in the current
fiscal which rules out technically any possibility of the ailing PSU carrier's
privatisation this fiscal and the same goes for BPCL strategic sale where such
possibilites don't exist.
In November, the Cabinet gave in-principle approval for disinvesting stake in 5
blue-chip PSUs, including state-owned Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL)
where a strategic divestment of the government's 53.29 per cent stake in BPCL,
along with transfer of certain management control. This is excluding BPCL's
equity share holding of 61 per cent stake in Numaligarh Refinery.
Apart from BPCL, the government has also approved disinvestment in four other
central public sector enterprises (CPSEs), Shipping Corp of India (SCI),
Container Corp of India, THDC India and North Eastern Electric Power
Corporation Ltd (NEEPCO). State run NTPC is likely to buy central government
stake in NEEPCO and THDC but so far no move has been made by NTPC on this .
The government will now try to push through sale of minority stakes, including
through exchange-traded funds, to raise revenue.
