The government is considering several options to sell equity in state-owned firms to achieve the R40,000-crore disinvestment target for the current fiscal. R Gopalan, economic affairs secretary said the government is currently not thinking of revising the target.
The BSE Sensex has fallen nearly 20% this year. Bearish market sentiment and turbulence in the global economy has forced the government to defer its disinvestment plan. Earlier this month, the government deferred the follow-on public offer of ONGC. A slowdown in the economy and tax collections growth, along with the difficulty in pushing through disinvestment have cast doubts about whether the government will be able to contain the fiscal deficit within the target of 4.6%. Many analysts forecast that the critical target would be overshot.
?There are other options. There can be equity shrinkage. Many possibilities still exist. Our aim is to achieve R40,000 crore (disinvestment target). We are not going to revise our target as on date,? Gopalan said, speaking at a seminar on the impact of climate change on economic policy.
The government has so far been able to raise only R1,100 crore by offloading its stake in the Power Finance Corporation. Last fiscal, the government raised R22,763 crore from sale of equity in PSUs, as against the target of R40,000 crore. The government has approved share sales in companies including ONGC, SAIL, Hindustan Copper and NBCC. Gopalan added that the government was committed to contain its fiscal deficit. ?There is a political commitment to maintain fiscal deficit at this level. We will try and see to how maintain it at 4.6%,? he said.
Speaking at the same function later in the day, RBI deputy governor Subir Gokarn highlighted how climate change was influencing economic policy including the monetary policy.