The Chief Economic Adviser (CEA) K.V. Subramanian said that the much-anticipated initial public offering (IPO) of Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) can bring in Rs 1 lakh crore for the government.
The much-anticipated initial public offering (IPO) of Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) can bring in Rs 1 lakh crore for the government, said the Chief Economic Adviser (CEA) K.V. Subramanian.
While addressing a webinar on Saturday, CEA K.V Subramanian announced that the strategic sale of Bharat Petroleum Corporate Ltd (BPCL) is likely to bring in Rs 75,000-80,000 crore.
Talking about the disinvestment target for the current fiscal, Subramanian added: “Of this, BPCL privatisation and LIC listing itself were important contributors. There are estimates suggesting Rs 75,000-80,000 crore or even higher can just come from the privatisation of BPCL itself. LIC IPO could bring in Rs 1 lakh crore approximately.”
The LIC IPO is expected to come in around October-November this year.
During the Union Budget presentation for FY21, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced that all the previously announced disinvestment processes will be completed in the next fiscal. The central government has set Rs.1.75 lakh crore disinvestment target for the next fiscal year after having failed to come close to its target for the current year. K.V. Subramanian said that the next year’s target of Rs.1.75 lakh crore is a carry over of the Rs.2.10 lakh crore target set for the current fiscal ending March 31. He reiterated the disinvestment target to be “imminently achievable”.
Both the privatisation of BPCL and IPO of LIC were targeted to be completed initially within the current fiscal, which did not complete amid the pandemic.
The Government amended the LIC ACT and passed the Finance Bill 2021 in parliament earlier this week.
Bhoi Smrutirekha Dharanidhar