Govt may raise only Rs 10k through stake divestment this fiscal

Including special dividend Rs 30k cr may go into divestment kitty, which is well short of Rs 40k cr target

The centre will once again fall short of meeting its ambitious Rs 40,000 crore disinvestment target this financial year. 

 

The government will raise a total of Rs 10,000 crore through stake divestment this fiscal, including nearly Rs 3,000 crore to be raised next month through an exchange traded fund (ETF), said a senior official with the department of disinvestment (DoD) today.

 

"We will raise only Rs 10,000 crore through divestment this year. Including the special dividends, a total of Rs 30,000 crore will be raised instead of targeted Rs 40,000 crore," the official said.

 

The government has so far raised a little over Rs 5,000 crore by selling its stake in eight companies including Power Grid and MMTC. 

 

It aims to raise nearly Rs 500 crore through the follow-on public offering (FPO) of Engineer's India, which will open for subscription tomorrow.

 

The government is also aiming to raise between Rs 2,500-3,000 crore from the CPSE (Central public sector  enterprises) ETF, which is likely to be launched early next month.

 

Given the huge shortfall in disinvestment proceeds, the government directed cash-rich Coal India to declare a hefty 'special' dividend. The coal miner had declared a record dividend of over Rs 18,000 crore in January, of which nearly Rs 16,500 crore went to the government, who owns 90 per cent stake in the company.

 

The DoD official said that Rs 30,000 crore will be sufficient to bridge the fiscal deficit this financial year. 

 

In the previous two financial years too the centre had fallen short of the disinvestment target. In 2012-13, the centre raised almost Rs 24,000 crore against targetted Rs 40,000 crore, while Rs 13,894 crore during 2011-12.