The Covid-19 pandemic and the resultant slowdown in the global economy have cast serious doubts on the highest-ever disinvestment target of Rs 2.1 trillion that Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had set for 2020-21.
The most optimistic assumption, according to informed sources, is there will be no transaction in the first half of the year (April-September). The worst-case scenario is the two marquee names up for privatisation — Air India and Bharat Petroleum — may not happen this year, and what the Centre may get in divestment proceeds could just be a fraction of the target.
In its April Monetary Policy