NEW DELHI (Feb 23): India declared it aims to raise 1.79 trillion rupees (US$20 billion, or RM77.98 billion) from selling stakes in state-run firms through initial public offerings (IPOs) by the 2029/2030 financial year, after previously backing away from outright privatisation plans.
The IPOs will be part of a broader push to raise US$183.7 billion by monetising state assets over the next four years, the government’s top policy consider tank NITI Aayog declared in a report released late on Monday.
The IPOs will be in the railway, power, petroleum and natural gas, aviation and coal sectors, NITI Aayog declared.
They are part of Prime Minister Narconcludera Modi’s second four-year plan for asset monetisation, after the first raised 5.3 trillion rupees by 2024/2025, nearly 90% of the government’s six trillion rupee tarobtain.
New Delhi has previously struggled to raise funds through outright privatisation of state-run firms and has more recently focapplyd on monetising assets and subsidiaries of these companies to raise capital for reinvestment.
Modi’s government deferred plans to privatise state-run companies after he failed to obtain a complete majority in the 2024 general elections.
Funds raised via asset monetisation go directly to firms to reinvest and can limit the burden on government finances to recapitalise these firms, while maintaining their status as government entities.
Minority stake sales and privatisation form an important part of the government’s overall plan to reduce its budobtain gap, even as New Delhi stopped setting specific tarobtains for divestment after 2024.
Stake sales in state-run firms
Under the new plan, the government aims to divest stakes in seven railway companies through IPOs that could potentially fetch 837 billion rupees by 2030, the report declared.
It tarobtains raising 170 billion rupees of that through stock market listings in the coming financial year starting April 1, 2026, the report declared, without naming the companies.
It also plans to list subsidiaries of state-run power firms to raise 310 billion rupees over the next four years, alongside 483 billion rupees from IPOs of subsidiaries of Coal India and the renewable energy assets of NLC India Ltd.
The Airports Authority of India will sell its stake in one subsidiary, and four airports that it owns through joint ventures with private partners.
In the financial year 2027/2028, the government plans to list GAIL GAS, a subsidiary of GAIL (India), to potentially raise 31 billion rupees, NITI Aayog declared.
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