Government reaches 78% of FY27 disinvestment and asset-monetisation goal in five months

The administration reported that within the first five months of the fiscal year it has realized about 78% of the Rs 80,000 crore disinvestment and asset-monetisation target set for FY27, collecting Rs 62,124 crore in capital receipts. The bulk of the amount, Rs 55,757 crore, came from minority-stake divestments in nine public-sector undertakings, a strategic sale of Indian Medicines Pharmaceuticals Corporation Ltd and remittances from the SUUTI, while Rs 6,367 crore was generated through asset-monetisation via InvITs.

The sale of the government’s 6.5% holding in Life Insurance Corporation of India contributed Rs 31,515 crore, accounting for more than half of the total, with further proceeds from Coal India, NHPC, Hindustan Copper and other PSUs such as Central Bank of India, NLC India, GIC, IRFC and Cochin Shipyard. A strategic sale of IDBI Bank is still under consideration after revised bids were received from Emirates NDB and Fairfax Financial Holdings following a failed earlier attempt.

The push for disinvestment comes as the treasury worries that rising energy and fertilizer import costs could inflate overall expenditure, even as it pursues a fiscal deficit ceiling of 4.3% of GDP for the year. Historical targets have risen over recent years, with the current FY27 goal markedly higher than previous allocations.