Government sets disinvestment target at Rs 50,000 crore for 2024-25

The government aims to fetch Rs 50,000 crore through equity stake sales in 2024-25, as privatisation of state-run companies takes a backseat before general elections this summer.

The government slashed the stake sale target for the current fiscal year to Rs 30,000 crore from Rs 51,000 crore as its biggest divestment planned for the year was delayed, budget documents released on Thursday showed.

In another notable development, the government lowered the fiscal deficit target of the current financial year to 5.8 per cent from an earlier estimate of 5.9 per cent of GDP. Sitharaman stressed that the government will continue on the path of fiscal consolidation and said that by financial year 2026 government will achieve a deficit target of 4.5 per cent.

The budget receipts for 2024-25 other than borrowings and total expenditure are estimated at Rs 30.80 lakh crore and Rs 47.66 lakh crore respectively. The revised estimates of the fiscal deficit is 5.8 per cent of GDP improving on the budget estimates notwithstanding moderation in the nominal growth estimates.

For the next fiscal, she pegged a deficit target of 5.1 per cent.

Meanwhile, the government will spend a record Rs 11.11 lakh crore on infrastructure creation in 2024/25, to ensure that India remains one of the world's fastest-growing major economies.

The allocation for capital expenditure for the financial year starting April 1 is 11.1 per cent higher than the capex for the current fiscal year, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Thursday in her budget speech.