off-the-wire

India 2023/24 budget pegs divestment target at 510 billion rupees

Kitco Media
By Reuters
Published:
Updated:
Reuters
NEW DELHI, Feb 1 (Reuters) - The Indian government expects to raise 510 billion rupees ($6.23 billion) from stake sales in various state-run companies, budget documents released on Wednesday showed. Divestments in state-owned firms is a key revenue raising measure that has helped Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government spend record amounts on infrastructure-building.


The target for 2023/24 is at par with the revised mop-up estimate of 500 billion rupees for 2022/23, the documents said.


Proceeds from divestment, monetisation and other similar transactions will be put into a 'National Investment Fund', which will be used for financing expenditure on infrastructure, education and health. The divestment mop-up for the current year was lower than the budgeted 650 billion rupees as planned privatisation of shortlisted state-owned firms has been pushed to the next financial year.


Privatisation plans of BEML and Shipping Corp of India have seen delays due to regulatory clearances, and the Indian government's maiden stake sale in lender IDBI Bank is expected to be completed by September 2023. ($1 = 81.7970 Indian rupees) <^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ India disinvestment receipts ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^> (Reporting by Nikunj Ohri; Editing by Nivedita Bhattacharjee)

Messaging: ))
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and may not reflect those of Kitco Metals Inc. The author has made every effort to ensure accuracy of information provided; however, neither Kitco Metals Inc. nor the author can guarantee such accuracy. This article is strictly for informational purposes only. It is not a solicitation to make any exchange in commodities, securities or other financial instruments. Kitco Metals Inc. and the author of this article do not accept culpability for losses and/ or damages arising from the use of this publication.