No fixed target, govt will go for calibrated divestment: Official

New Delhi: The government has not fixed any disinvestment target for the financial year 2024-25 and the strategy will be to sell its stake in the public sector undertakings in a calibrated manner, top official said after presentation of the interim budget on Thursday.

“We have not kept any fixed target for disinvestment,” said Tuhin Kanta Pandey, Secretary in the Department of Investment and Public Asset Management.

Addressing a post budget press conference along with Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and other top officials, Pandey said the disinvestments would be done in a calibrated manner.

In the current financial year till January 31, the central government has raised Rs 12,504.32 crore through selling stakes in different public sector entities, as per information available on the website of the Department of Investment and Public Asset Management. This is less than one-fourth of the full-year budgetary target of Rs 51,000 crore.

In the interim budget, the government has set a target to raise Rs 50,000 crore through selling stakes in public sector entities and asset monetisation during the financial year 2024-25. Pandey clarified that Rs 50,000 crore is not a disinvestment target as it includes other things like asset monetisation. “If we get an opportunity, we can do higher than this,” he added.

The finance minister did not mention disinvestment targets in her budget speech.

The disinvestment has not progressed as expected for FY24 despite robust Indian capital markets. “Successful and robust disinvestments lead to good values being generated, bringing quality scrips to the securities market and enriching retail investors economic value,” said Lalit Kumar, partner at JSA Advocates and Solicitors.

However, Pandey said that the buoyancy in stock markets have led to generation of wealth for the exchequer.

He said combined market capitalisation of the central public sector enterprises and public sector banks have surged by around Rs 42 lakh crore in the past three years. “In one year we have created wealth worth around Rs 25 lakh crore,” he added.

Speaking at the post budget presser Sitharaman said the government will bring out a ‘white paper’ on the economic performance of the last 10 years comparing it with the previous 10 years.

“The government has got the trust, confidence and blessings of the people based on its exemplary track record of GDP that is Governance, Development and Performance," she said. The timeline to present this paper hasn't been finalised yet.