Assocham wants Budget to spell out a disinvestment policy

The government should come out with a disinvestment policy in Public Sector Units to mop up funds even while keeping the majority stake with it, industry body Assocham said in its Budget wish-list.

"The government must announce a policy for disinvestment of PSUs in the Budget to generate funds. However, the majority stakes in these units should be retained with the government," Assocham President Sajjan Jindal said releasing a paper on 'Fiscal situation and the task ahead of the new government'.

Jindal said there is a potential to raise at least Rs 80,000 crore through dilution of government equity in leading profit-making PSUs.

 

"The industry is still in the ICU. The government should provide the Oxygen required for the industry to come out from there. Our exports have been badly hit, which might have a major impact on the economy. In such a scenario, the government should not tinker with the existing duty structure," Jindal said.

He added that the government should take initiatives to help grow the domestic demand and as such it must go ahead with the cut in the interest rates to provide further momentum for the return of the investor sentiment.