NEW DELHI: Over two months of the fiscal year, the Center earned around Rs 20,000 crore from disinvestments and asset sales, going ahead with its strategy of raising resources through the non-tax revenue route in the face of a rising support bill due to the West Asian conflict.
The funds raised so far represent about 25% of the goal for the full year.Already, the Fertilizers Ministry has sought to double the subsidy in the current financial year, which is budgeted at Rs 1.7 lakh crore, with the government also urging domestic players to increase fertilizer manufacturing amid rising prices. There is more uncertainty about vessel availability and many fertilizer suppliers are opting out of the market.Moreover, the Center has provided support of over Rs 1.2 lakh crore to the oil sector, including tax rebates, to cushion the impact of rising crude oil prices.
No need to review spending plans: official
Oil companies have increased prices, and further increases are likely to occur in phases. The Center will also have to provide subsidy for cooking gas cylinders as oil companies are currently incurring losses of around Rs 700 crore daily.While no spending cuts or reorganization are planned at the moment, a senior official on Tuesday ruled out seeking parliamentary approval for additional spending during the monsoon period.
A clearer picture on the revenue and expenditure front will emerge around mid-July when first-quarter trends are available. “There is no need to review our spending plans at the moment because we took into account the global uncertainty when the budget was presented,” an official said.But the turmoil that has occurred since the start of the conflict in West Asia has pushed the Ministry of Finance to raise more money through divestment and asset monetization.Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is reviewing the situation and the Department of Investment and Monetization of Public Assets (DIPAM) and the Department of Public Enterprises have a pipeline not only for the full year but also for the medium term, officials said.So far this year, Rs 12,166 crore has been raised through disinvestment and another Rs 6,367 crore has been raised through asset monetisation. So far, Deepam has relied on the offer for sale to raise funds from the RBI, Coal India and NHBC. The government’s offer to divest up to 3% stake in NLC India, which saw the issue subscribed 5.2 times on the opening day on Tuesday, is expected to raise another Rs 1,260 crore. Apart from the IDBI Bank stake sale, where the process remains unclear, most of the other strategic sale plans have not made much progress.
