Refocus again: Despite stated policy and disinvestment has slowed

Expectations that the government would increase the speed of strategic disinvestment or privatisation have been dashed

A new practice has started in the Union Budget: Of providing a target for capital receipts without spelling out the amount that would be raised from disinvestment in particular. This year, the target for miscellaneous capital receipts — which include those from disinvestment, privatisation, and asset monetisation — in the Union Budget is Rs 47,000 crore. This is in line with the target for the previous year. It is certainly tempting to believe that shifts in how disinvestment or privatisation targets are announced are partially a consequence of how the government has failed to meet these targets in successive years.