With pooled investment vehicles such as InvITs and REITs expected to play a significant role in the Centre’s ambitious asset monetisation programme, the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Finance has urged the government to develop a carefully calibrated rollout roadmap, backed by robust valuation safeguards and a transparent oversight mechanism.
Last month, the Centre unveiled the National Monetisation Pipeline (NMP) 2.0, setting an ambitious target of ₹16.7 lakh crore for public-sector asset recycling between FY26 and FY30 — around 67% higher than the earlier estimate of ₹10 lakh crore in projected upfront revenues and private investment.
“The Committee believe these instruments can unlock underutilised financial resources and provide a sustainable mechanism for financing Viksit Bharat infrastructure, provided that the pressure to meet fiscal targets does not lead to the undervaluation of strategic national assets,” the panel said in its report.
The Budget announcement proposed accelerating the recycling of significant CPSE real estate assets through the creation of dedicated REITs, the Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM) informed the panel.
Over the years, REITs have emerged as an effective tool for asset monetisation, enabling capital to be unlocked from completed, income-generating commercial assets and redeployed into priority public investments — particularly infrastructure creation and improvements in urban service delivery.
“This is especially relevant because a large share of public sector office space is owned by CPSEs and is located in prime areas, often carrying high embedded land and location value, with strong underlying market demand for comparable commercial space,” DIPAM said.
However, in many cases, self-occupation or non-standard leasing arrangements constrain monetisation, as cash flows are not structured as arm’s-length, benchmarked rentals that can be transparently valued by investors.
“These assets can potentially be monetised through appropriately structured REIT models, including lease-back arrangements that preserve functional use while creating stable, predictable rental cashflows,” DIPAM added. Office complexes, guest houses, hotels, railway stations, bus terminals, stadiums, hospitals and community centres located in government colonies are currently being assessed for inclusion.
Asset monetisation has emerged as a key policy priority for the next five years, as the government seeks to raise upfront revenues, attract private capital and ease fiscal pressures without resorting to fresh borrowing. The emphasis remains on recycling brownfield assets rather than outright divestment, with the twin objective of improving utilisation while retaining public ownership.