Disinvestment proceeds worth Rs 4.07 lakh cr has been realised in last 9 years: Economic Survey

New Delhi: About Rs 4.07 lakh crore has been realised as disinvestment proceeds in the past nine years, and post-2014 the government is engaging with the private sector as a co-partner in the development, said the Economic Survey on Tuesday. In the current fiscal, out of the budgeted amount of Rs 65,000 crore, 48 percent or over Rs 31,000 crore has been collected as of January 18.

'Labour productivity & overall efficiency of PSUs disinvested during 1990-2015 has improved'

The survey said that privatisation of Air India re-ignited the privatisation drive, and evidence shows that labour productivity and the overall efficiency of the PSUs disinvested during 1990-2015 has improved.

"During FY15 to FY23 (as of 18 January 2023), an amount of about Rs 4.07 lakh crore has been realised as proceeds from disinvestment through 154 transactions using various modes/instruments," said the Survey tabled in Parliament by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. Of this, Rs 3.02 lakh crore was realised from minority stake sale and Rs 69,412 crore was realised from strategic disinvestment transactions of 10 PSUs including, HPCL, REC, DCIL, HSCC, NPCC, NEEPCO, THDC, Kamrajar Port, Air India and NINL.

The government is currently working on privatising a host of PSUs like Shipping Corporation of India, NMDC Steel Ltd, BEML, HLL Lifecare, Container Corporation of India and Vizag Steel, besides IDBI Bank. These strategic sale processes are in various stages and a majority of them are expected to be completed in the next fiscal, beginning April 1.

Disinvestment: Bids for IDBI Bank likely to be invited by March, sale process to conclude next fiscal

'Govt's disinvestment policy has been revived in the last 8 yrs with stake sales'

"A fundamental principle behind the government's policy in the post- 2014 period has been the engagement with the private sector as a partner in the development process. The government's disinvestment policy has been revived in the last eight years with stake sales and the successful listing of PSEs on the stock market," it said.

The pandemic-induced uncertainty, the geopolitical conflict, and the associated risks have posed challenges before the plans and prospects of the government's disinvestment transactions over the last three years.

Nevertheless, the government has reaffirmed its commitment towards privatisation and strategic disinvestment of Public Sector Enterprises by implementing the new Public Sector Enterprise (PSE) Policy and Asset Monetisation Strategy. The Survey said that determined efforts should be taken to make the public sector asset monetisation scheme successful in realising wide-ranging efficiency gains.

"If asset monetisation revenues are used to reduce public sector debt, the sovereign credit rating will improve, leading to a lower cost of capital. That will be the biggest fiscal stimulus to the economy," said the Survey.

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