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Despite having launched a revamped ‘disinvestment policy’ successful 2020, the cardinal government’s absorption has decisively shifted from selling disconnected its assets to extracting the maximum worth from them, an investigation of information shows. The caller motorboat of the National Monetisation Pipeline 2.0 marks an hold of this argumentation shift.
The Centre had successful 2021 launched the Public Sector Enterprises Policy, nether which it said it would exit each non-strategic sectors, and would clasp a minimum beingness successful strategical ones. An investigation by The Hindu of information with the Department of Investment and Public Asset Management, however, shows that, but for a little surge successful 2022-23, gross from disinvestment has been falling each year.
On the different hand, gross from dividends from nationalist assemblage companies has grown consistently each year. In addition, respective different argumentation decisions — specified arsenic removing a abstracted heading for disinvestments successful the Budget documents, and pushing guardant with the National Asset Monetisation Pipeline — amusement the absorption has shifted to amended utilisation of existing assets.
Initial enthusiasm for privatisation
Back successful 2021, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had categorically asserted that the authorities has “no concern to beryllium successful business”.
“When a authorities engages successful business, it leads to losses,” Mr. Modi said during a 2021 webinar organised by DIPAM. “The authorities is bound by rules and the deficiency of courageousness to instrumentality bold commercialized decisions. It is the government’s work to enactment enterprises and businesses. But it is not indispensable that it should ain and tally enterprises.”
More recently, successful August 2025, Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary informed the Lok Sabha that the argumentation connected strategical disinvestment oregon privatisation is based connected the economical rule that the Government “should minimise beingness successful sectors” wherever the backstage assemblage has travel of property and wherever the economical imaginable of the nationalist assemblage companies whitethorn beryllium amended realised successful the hands of a strategical investor.
In 2022-23, the Central Government sold a information of its involvement successful respective PSEs specified arsenic Oil and Natural Gas Corporation, Life Insurance Corporation, GAIL India, and Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation. This saw net from disinvestment retrieve to Rs 35,294 crore successful 2022-23, snapping a four-year declining streak.
Not capable takers
Thereafter, the authorities recovered it progressively hard to rise revenues done disinvestments. According to officials that had been successful the Ministry of Finance astatine the time, the contented was that the backstage assemblage was not keen to bargain nationalist assemblage companies owed to their ample worker headcounts and loss-making assets.
In fact, successful the revised estimates for 2023-24, the Centre removed the abstracted header for disinvestments successful the fund documents, alternatively clubbing them with respective different superior receipts nether the heading ‘Miscellaneous Capital Receipts’. With that, the authorities nary longer sets targets for disinvestment proceeds successful immoderate fixed year.
The gross earned from disinvestments, arsenic per the information compiled by the nodal section DIPAM, fell to Rs 16,507.3 crore successful 2023-24 and further to Rs 10,163.02 crore successful 2024-25. The authorities has truthful acold earned Rs 15,562.8 crore done disinvestments successful 2025-26, with a period much to spell successful the fiscal year.
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Pushing for much dividends
On the different hand, the Centre has pushed up with its argumentation of maximising the dividends it tin person from its companies. In November 2020, DIPAM issued an advisory to the CEOs and Managing Directors of each cardinal PSEs regarding a “consistent dividend policy”.
“CPSEs are advised to strive to wage higher dividends taking into relationship applicable factors similar profitability, capex requirements with owed leveraging cash/reserves and nett worth,” it said.
This was reinforced done a November 2024 merchandise of Revised Guidelines connected Capital Restructuring of Central Public Sector Enterprises, successful which DIPAM said “the Government seeks to emphasise connected creating worth successful the CPSEs successful bid to maximise returns for the Government and different shareholders.”
The government’s dividend receipts, not counting what is received from nationalist assemblage banks and the Reserve Bank of India, roseate from Rs 39,750 crore successful 2020-21 to Rs 74,128.6 crore by 2024-25. This magnitude stands astatine Rs 59,730.6 crore successful 2025-26 truthful far.
Roping successful the backstage sector
In 2021, the authorities besides launched the National Monetisation Pipeline (NMP) nether which the authorities would lease our assorted brownfield assets to the backstage sector, without ownership changing hands, with a people of earning Rs 6 lakh crore from 2021-22 to 2024-25. According to the government, it has achieved 90% of this goal.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman connected February 23 launched NMP 2.0 with the purpose of earning astir Rs 16.72 lakh crore implicit the five-year play 2025-26 to 2029-30 done this route.
