India eyes asset sales to partly fund higher spending next year: Report

India had aimed to raise more than $28 billion this fiscal year by selling stakes in companies such as Bharat Petroleum Corp Ltd, Container Corp of India and others

India is likely to spend more next fiscal year than this year’s budgeted $415 billion and prioritise infrastructure projects, relying on asset sales of around $40 billion for some of the funding, two people with knowledge of the plan told Reuters.

After largely keeping its purse strings in check as the coronavirus pandemic choked businesses and threw millions out of jobs, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government is keen to bring the economy back onto a solid growth path with the budget to be presented on Feb. 1.

Actual spending in the current fiscal year ending March 31 could