NEW DELHI: Even as the Centre has said that it will stick to its ambitious disinvestment/divestment target for the current financial year, finance ministry officials fear that if the partial lockdowns in certain parts of the country are extended beyond this month, or continue to intensify, it may dampen market sentiment and may make achieving the targets a challenging task.
“We are moving as usual with the divestment targets. However, if the number of cases increase or lockdowns are extended beyond April, it will have its impact. Businesses just get cautious. The Centre is committed to vaccination for all but it all depends on how it unfolds,” a senior official from the finance ministry told this publication.
The official added that the issue will be discussed in detail next week, when Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman is likely to hold a meeting on the progress made on the divestment front.
She is also likely to select the name of two public sector banks which are to be privatised.
The government, for the current fiscal year, has set a disinvestment target of Rs 1.75 lakh crore and, going by the aggresive push, officials feel the target is quite achievable.
In fact, the proposed initial public offering (IPO) by LIC itself could garner Rs 1 lakh crore for the government.
There are estimates suggesting Rs 75,000-Rs 80,000 crore could come from the privatisation of BPCL.
In the last fiscal year 2020-21, the government had budgeted Rs 2.10 lakh crore to be gained through disinvestment, but this figure was badly hit by the Covid- 19 pandemic.
In the Revised Estimates of the recently announced budget, the target was scaled down to Rs 32,000 crore as the pandemic delayed planned big-ticket disinvestments.
The government has mopped up Rs 32,835 crore from CPSE share sale and buybacks for the fiscal.
However as the economy started recovering, the Centre intensified efforts—speeding up approvals for the sale of Shipping Corporation of India, Nilanchal Ispat Nigam Ltd among others. The government also plans to privatise two public sector banks and one general insurance firm this fiscal.