Jaitley and Sitharaman: A look at divestment under the two NDA FMs

In his early days, PM Modi had said that the government would get out of most sectors, a vision which was given credence through the new policy of 'strategic sectors' announced by Sitharaman in 2020

On May 29, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, at a press conference in Mumbai, said that the privatisation of public sector banks (PSBs) will go ahead as planned. This came as somewhat of a surprise to policy watchers as the plans for privatising two PSBs and one general insurer were announced two years ago. A top official told Business Standard that any PSB privatisation is unlikely to happen before the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been a proponent of divestment, and National Democratic Alliance (NDA) administrations have had a better track record than United Progressive Alliance (UPA)