Government ends FY20 divestment programme with Rs 14,700-cr shortfall

The planned IPO of Indian Railway Finance Corporation (IRFC) and an Rs 8,000-crore sale of the Centre's stake in ITC and Axis Bank through SUUTI, have now been put on hold

The Centre ended the divestment programme for 2019-20 with proceeds of Rs 50,298.6 crore, a shortfall of Rs 14,701 crore, compared with the Revised Estimates of Rs 65,000 crore. The Centre’s divestment plans for February and March, which included a number of offers-for-sales, an initial public offering (IPO) and a Specified Undertaking of Unit Trust of India (SUUTI) sale, were hit first by the markets reacting to economic slowdown, and then to the Covid-19 pandemic.
 

The last three deals finalised were that of the sale of the government’s 100 per cent stake in NEEPCO and 75 per cent stake in