The government on Friday received financial bids for the strategic disinvestment of IDBI Bank, the Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (Dipam) said in an official statement on X.
The Indian government is accelerating its sale of minority stakes in state-owned companies, including a significant offer for sale (OFS) in Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) expected "very soon," to meet its 80,000 crore mobilisation target and reduce its holdings to 75 per cent in most listed PSUs by year-end.
India's Central government is likely to see its fertiliser subsidy bill double to a record 3.4 trillion in FY27, up from the Budget estimate of 1.7 trillion, due to surging global fertiliser prices exacerbated by the West Asia war. This significant increase, coupled with revenue losses from excise duty cuts for oil-marketing companies, is straining the government's fiscal space, though capital expenditure plans remain unchanged.
Divestment has emerged as a priority for the government following a moderation in direct tax collections.
The Indian government is set to accelerate reforms, including measures to enhance foreign direct investment, speed up divestment, and boost asset monetisation, to maintain economic growth despite rising fuel and fertiliser import costs driven by the West Asia crisis.
HDFC Bank's shares experienced a dip on Wednesday after a newspaper report alleged that the bank made illegal payments to the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation to secure large deposits, raising concerns about corporate governance.
The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Finance has asked the finance ministry to spell out a clear legal strategy, including options such as a "golden share" or indirect control structures, to maintain strategic oversight in public sector entities if state ownership falls below 51 per cent.
HDFC Bank reports a 12% credit growth for the March quarter, alongside the unexpected resignation of its chairman, Atanu Chakraborty, due to ethical concerns.
HDFC Bank has launched an independent review by external law firms following the abrupt resignation of Chairman Atanu Chakraborty, who cited 'ethical concerns and practices within the bank' as the reason for his departure.
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has issued a statement assuring the public of HDFC Bank's stability and sound financial position following the resignation of its chairman, Atanu Chakraborty, citing ethical concerns.
We know what Mrs Sitharaman and Mr Chaudhary (who may soon be moving out of the finance ministry to head to Lucknow to take charge as president of the Bharatiya Janata Party's Uttar Pradesh unit) look like, but who are the others in these photographs?
Atanu Chakraborty has resigned as chairman of HDFC Bank, citing ethical concerns, marking an unusual departure and prompting the appointment of an interim chairman.
India's privatisation push, once projected as a cornerstone of economic reform, has suffered another setback, with the Centre set to call off the IDBI Bank stake sale, highlighting the political and structural constraints shaping the country's disinvestment policy, experts say.
Capex, infrastructure development, and prudent fiscal management are the key focus areas in the Budget, says Nilesh Shah.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Thursday said the country needs big and world-class banks, and discussions are on with the Reserve Bank and lenders in this regard.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday allayed apprehension that privatisation of state-owned banks would hurt financial inclusion and national interest. She said the bank nationalisation done in 1969 has not yielded the desired result as far as financial inclusion was concerned.
The Dipam will work under Finance Ministry.
Seasoned bureaucrat and a stickler for rules Finance Secretary Tuhin Kanta Pandey will be at the helm of capital market regulator, Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), for three years. The 1987-batch Odisha-cadre Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer, Pandey, would replace Madhabi Puri Buch, whose three-year term ends on Friday.
This will be the first full-year Budget of the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance government since it came to power for a third consecutive term in July last year.
The Indian government has appointed Finance Secretary Tuhin Kanta Pandey as the new chairman of the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI). Pandey, a 1987-batch IAS officer, will replace Madhabi Puri Buch, whose three-year tenure ends on February 28. Pandey's appointment comes at a time when the markets are experiencing bear pressure due to withdrawals by foreign institutional investors (FIIs). Pandey has extensive experience in the finance ministry, having served as the longest-serving secretary in the Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM) and the Department of Public Enterprises (DPE). He also played a key role in the framing of the 2025-26 Budget and the drafting of the new Income Tax Bill. Pandey's appointment is for an initial period of three years.
The Centre may overshoot the Rs 56,260 crore target for dividend receipts from central public-sector enterprises (CPSEs) set for FY25 and is likely to end up getting around Rs 65,000 crore this financial year, according to a senior government official. This excludes dividend from nationalised banks and financial institutions. As on October 21, the Centre collected Rs 28,913 crore as dividend and other investment from CPSEs, accounting for over 50 per cent of the Budget Estimate for FY25.
The guidelines for strategic disinvestment were issued on Monday itself when Finance Minister Arun Jaitley presented the Union Budget for 2016-17.
The government on Monday decided to call off the strategic divestment of Pawan Hans as the successful bidding consortium Star9 Mobility Pvt Ltd was disqualified in view of pending legal cases. Pawan Hans is a 51:49 joint venture of the government and ONGC. The government had in April last year decided to sell the helicopter service provider for Rs 211.14 crore to Star9 Mobility Pvt Ltd -- a consortium of Big Charter Private Ltd, Maharaja Aviation Private Ltd and Almas Global Opportunity Fund SPC.
Ahead of the Budget, the government has achieved almost half the divestment target of Rs 65,000 crore. FY23 divestment receipts are unlikely to be anywhere close to the budgeted target.
The Maharashtra government has become the owner of iconic Air India building with the Union government approving transfer of the asset on Thursday. The Maharashtra government bought the Air India building at Nariman Point in Mumbai for Rs 1,601 crore. "GoI has approved transfer of Air India building, Mumbai of AI Assets Holding Company Ltd (AIAHL) to Government of Maharashtra (GoM) at consideration of Rs.1601 cr. GoM has agreed to waive dues of Rs. 298.42 cr, which would have been otherwise payable by AIAHL to GoM for this transaction," DIPAM secretary Tuhin Kanta Pandey said in a post on X.
'We are in a position to start due diligence and private data room access shortly.'
The Centre could further moderate its divestment target for 2024-25 (FY25), as it does not expect large receipts from asset sales - except some ongoing strategic ones, including IDBI Bank, which could spill over into next financial year. Also, it may drastically reduce its FY24 divestment target of Rs 51,000 crore. "We are still evaluating the Budget estimates for FY25. "New big-ticket asset sales are unlikely.
The finance minister continues to be backed by the same policy team in charting out the broad strategy as in the few earlier Budgets.
With general elections on the horizon, the government's privatisation bandwagon has almost but stalled as a government wary of being accused of selling family silver opts for minority stake sales on stock exchanges over outright privatisation. The result -- the divestment target for current fiscal year is again likely to be missed. Big ticket privatisation plans such as that of Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL), Shipping Corporation of India (SCI) and CONCOR are already on the backburner and analysts feel meaningful privatisation can happen only after April/May general elections.
Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) may require at least five more years to comply with the minimum public shareholding of 25 per cent beyond the current exempted timeline of 2027. Formal communication in this regard had been shared recently with the finance ministry, underlining LIC's roadmap, plans of further dilution of stake, current norms around public float, and challenges ahead, a government source familiar with the matter said. "Going forward, we will have to take a call, along with Sebi (Securities and Exchange Board of India) and the Department of Economic Affairs on the roadmap for minimum public shareholding (MPS).
The government on Wednesday extended the deadline to submit preliminary bids for the IDBI Bank privatisation till January 7. The government and LIC together are looking to sell 60.72 per cent of IDBI Bank and had invited bids from potential buyers in October. The last date for submitting an Expression of Interest (EoI) or preliminary bids was December 16.
The Centre is considering relaxing some norms that led to the failure in attracting bids for assets of Bharat Sanchar Nigam (BSNL) and Mahanagar Telephone Nigam (MTNL) as they look to restart the auction for their non-core assets. The Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM) had listed six properties of BSNL and MTNL for sale through its new e-bidding portal, developed by state-run MSTC, but the auction failed to garner an adequate interest. DIPAM had asked government-appointed property consultants to identify issues in the bidding criteria for resolution.
'Because it is the only public sector company in this sector, currently.'
The first ever auction of non-core assets through the Department of Investment and Public Asset Management's (DIPAM) asset monetisation portal has failed to garner adequate response for land assets of Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL) that was expected to garner at least Rs 470 crore. The DIPAM has asked its property consultants to identify issues in the bidding criteria that can be resolved. In November 2021, the DIPAM had listed six properties of BSNL and MTNL for sale through its new e-bidding portal for asset monetisation portal developed by state-run MSTC.
The government has received Rs 413 crore as dividend tranches from five CPSEs, including NLC and NALCO. "Government has received Rs 78 crore and Rs 165 crore respectively from Antariksh corp and NLC as dividend tranches," DIPAM secretary Tuhin Kanta Pandey tweeted.
Earlier, proceeds from disinvestment were shown separately as part of the miscellaneous receipts in the Capital Receipts Budget.
The ministry of railways has decided to withdraw its decision on sharing of convenience fee earned by IRCTC on online bookings of train tickets, the DIPAM secretary said on Friday.
'Inter-ministerial coordination, information on the proposed PSUs, and due diligence are taking longer than expected to conclude the process.'
In a first, the government has made it mandatory for interested buyers of IDBI Bank to provide details for security clearance from the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) in the first stage of the bidding process. So far, in all instances of CPSE privatisation, the government would seek details regarding security clearance of the bidders at the second stage of the bidding process. This meant that bidders who qualified in the first or the Expression of Interest (EoI) round, were required to seek security clearance from the government while placing their financial bids.
A communiqu sent by the department of investment and public asset management (DIPAM) to the heads of all PSUs, said the move would help the government to get predictable and periodic dividends before Budget estimates are firmed up.
