New Delhi: Two months into the fiscal year, the Center has raised nearly Rs 20,000 crore from disinvestment and asset sales, furthering its strategy of raising resources through the non-tax revenue route in the face of a rising subsidy bill due to the West Asia conflict. The amount raised so far is about 25% of the target for the entire year.Already, the fertilizer ministry has sought doubling of subsidies 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 additional uncertainty regarding ship availability and the exit of several fertilizer suppliers from the market.Additionally, the Center has extended support of over Rs 1.2 lakh crore to the oil sector, including excise duty cuts, to cushion the impact of higher crude oil prices.
No need to review expenditure plans: Officials
Oil companies have raised prices, and further increases in tranches are likely. The Center will also have to provide subsidy for LPG cylinders because oil companies are currently incurring losses of around Rs 700 crore per day.Although there are no plans to cut or realign spending at the moment, a senior official on Tuesday refused to seek parliamentary approval for additional spending during the monsoon session.A clear picture on the revenue and expenditure front will emerge in mid-July when the first quarter trends will be available. “There is no need to review our spending plans at this stage as we had kept global uncertainty in mind while presenting the budget,” an official said.But disruptions since the conflict began in West Asia have prompted the finance ministry to raise more funds through disinvestment and asset monetization.Officials said Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is reviewing the situation and the Department of Investment and Public Asset Monetization (DIPAM) and the Department of Public Enterprises have a pipeline not only for the entire year but also for the medium term.So far this year, Rs 12,166 crore has been raised through disinvestment and Rs 6,367 crore has been raised through asset monetization. So far, DIPAM has relied on offers-for-sale from Central Bank of India, Coal India and NHPC to raise money. The issue, led by the government’s offer to sell up to 3% stake in NLC India, was subscribed 5.2 times on its opening day on Tuesday, which is expected to raise another Rs 1,260 crore. Apart from the IDBI Bank stake sale, where the process is still unclear, most other strategic sale plans have not made much progress.
