Govt raises Rs 5,094 cr via PSU stake sale in FY'14 so far

The government has missed its disinvestment target for four consecutive financial years and has realised Rs 5,094 crore so far in the current fiscal.

In 2010-11 and 2011-12 fiscals, the government had raised Rs 22,144 crore and Rs 13,894 crore through disinvestment, against the budgeted target of Rs 40,000 crore in each year, Minister of State for Finance J D Seelam said in a written reply to the Rajya Sabha today.

In 2012-13 fiscal, the government had raised Rs 23,956 crore, against the target of Rs 30,000 crore.

In the current fiscal, it has so far raised Rs 5,093.87 crore, Seelam said.

In the interim Budget 2014 presented in Parliament yesterday the revised disinvestment target for current fiscal was estimated at Rs 16,027 crore, lower than the original estimate of Rs 40,000 crore.

"The current disinvestment policy is appropriate as it exists. Efforts are being made to undertake adequate preparation so that the process of disinvestment is expedited," Seelam said.

He further said the realisation of disinvestment targets depends on a variety of factors including volatility in the capital market. Regulatory regulatory approvals, due diligence of the company, etc, take a lot of time which results in delay in the disinvestment process," Seelam said.

In the remaining one-and-a-half months of the current fiscal, the government plans to sell stake in Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), Bhel and also float a CPSE ETF.

The government expects to raise about Rs 5,000 crore through a 10% stake sale in Indian Oil, the country's largest refiner, to state-owned explorers Oil & Natural Gas Corporation and Oil India Ltd.

It plans to raise over Rs 2,000 crore by selling a 5% stake in power plant equipment maker BHEL to financial institutions such as Life Insurance Corporation through block deals.

Another Rs 3,000 crore is expected to be mobilised from the CPSE Exchange Traded Fund, which will consist of scrips of 11 blue chip state-owned firms, that will be offered in the market.