After LIC, it is doubtful that BPCL's stake will be sold in the current year

Mumbai, Ta. 25 September 2020, Friday

After Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC), Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd. The disinvestment plan in (BPCL) is likely to be extended till the next financial year. The disinvestment program will not be able to go ahead as per the budget expectations and it will be difficult for the government to control the fiscal deficit in the current financial year.

The government has come up with a special plan to sell its stake in some of the major companies to keep the fiscal deficit low.

The fiscal deficit target has been breached in just four months of the current financial year. The government plans to raise ૯ 8-10 billion by selling its stake in BPCL.

Given the expectation of a significant slowdown in the country's economic growth in the current financial year, delays in the disinvestment program of government undertakings will pose an obstacle to the exercise of raising additional funds, finance ministry sources said.

The government had estimated in the budget to raise ૨૭ 4 billion in the current financial year by selling stakes in some public sector undertakings, but in the first six months of the current financial year, the government has so far managed to raise only ૫ 2.6 billion.

Delays in the appointment of asset valuers in relation to LIC and the government's plan to bring public payments in the current year are unlikely to materialize. The valuation process will take a long time.