Revised disinvestment estimate stands at Rs 32,000 cr in 2020-21, lower than 2019-20: FinMin

Revised estimate (RE) for disinvestment in 2020-21 was Rs 32,000 crore, significantly lower than 2019-20. Disinvestment receipts stood at Rs 50,299 crore in 2019-20. Government’s realised disinvestment receipt stood at Rs 32, 845 crore, around 103 per cent of revised estimate (RE) in 2020-21.

“Due to volatile market conditions arising from COVID-19, the Revised Estimates were significantly lower than the Budget Estimates for 2020-21,” Minister of State for Finance Dr Bhagwat Kishanrao Karad told the Lok Sabha in a written reply. He added that disinvestment receipts as a proportion of the total Budget have varied during the period 2014-15 to 2020-21.

Dr Karad further told the Lower House that disinvestment of the Government of India in central public sector enterprises (CPSEs) is dependent on market sentiment, investor interest and market valuation of CPSE stocks. He also said that privatization will be the primary mode of disinvestments in the near future.

“With disinvestment over a period of time, the scope of minority stake sale has declined. Going forward, privatization would be the primary mode for disinvestment receipts,” Dr Karad said in reply to a question on whether the total disinvestment receipts as a proportion of total receipts for each financial year since 2014 have declined or not.

Meanwhile, Union Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw told the Lok Sabha during the Question Hour on Friday that disinvestment of some public sector units and the Container Corporation of India (CONCOR) is one such unit, as per news agency PTI. Vaishnaw said that disinvestment procedures for CONCOR began way back in 1994-95.

“Disinvestment of some of the public sector units has been a continuous process. CONCOR today is an industry which already has over 15 container train operators in the country,” the Union Minister said. He added, “In 1994-95, 20 percent equity in CONCOR was disinvested in 1995-96, during the Congress government itself, another 3.05 percent was disinvested.”

“During the Congress governments, there was a total disinvestment of 24.35 per cent of CONCOR while in the non-Congress governments, it is 20.3 per cent,” he further apprised the House.

(With agency inputs)

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