Government Crosses Nearly a Quarter of Rs 80,000-Crore Asset-Sale Target for FY27

India's plan to raise money by selling stakes in public sector firms and monetising assets has begun strongly in the current financial year (FY27). The government has already realised close to a quarter of its Rs 80,000-crore target, according to people aware of the matter. The early momentum comes at a time when the government needs extra resources to keep its finances under control.

The collections so far include Rs 6,366.93 crore raised through land monetisation using Infrastructure Investment Trusts (InvITs), and Rs 7,808.49 crore from selling stakes in Central Bank of India and Coal India. In addition, the Centre is estimated to have raised about Rs 4,279 crore by selling a 6 per cent stake in NHPC through the offer-for-sale (OFS) route, including a green shoe option used to meet extra demand. Together these add up to Rs 18,454.42 crore, which is more than 23 per cent of the FY27 disinvestment and asset monetisation target.

These resources are important because India's fiscal deficit, the gap between what the government spends and what it earns, rose sharply to Rs 3.62 trillion in April, nearly double the figure a year earlier. This was driven by lower revenue receipts and higher spending in the first month of the year. The April deficit already touched 21.4 per cent of the full-year budget target of Rs 16.96 trillion for FY27, signalling pressure on government finances.

Experts note that much of the groundwork for these stake sales had been completed in FY25 and FY26, but the government had not rushed earlier because strong revenue collections helped it meet its deficit goals. In FY27, higher crude oil and fertiliser prices, muted demand growth and pressure on tax collections have made non-tax revenue such as asset sales more crucial for keeping the fiscal deficit at the targeted 4.3 per cent of GDP. The programme began with an OFS in Central Bank of India on 22 May 2026, followed by Coal India on 27 May 2026, with NHPC as the third state-run firm in the OFS line-up.

For exams, this story is useful for understanding disinvestment versus asset monetisation, the role of DIPAM, the offer-for-sale and green shoe mechanisms, InvITs, and how the fiscal deficit is financed and contained.