"During the current financial year, government disinvested 10 per cent of NBCC and 5.58 per cent of Hindustan Copper (HCL) out of its shareholding and realised an amount of Rs 124.97 crore and Rs 807.02 crore respectively totalling to Rs 931.99 crore," Finance Minister P Chidambaram said in a written reply to the Rajya Sabha.
Chidambaram said "the government is taking necessary action to achieve the budgetary target of Rs 30,000 crore set for the financial year 2012-13".
In reply to another question, the Minister said the fiscal deficit target for the current year "will be reassessed after mid-year review depending on the pace of expenditure and resource position of the government".
The fiscal deficit for the current financial year has been projected at over Rs 5.13 lakh crore or 5.1 per cent of GDP. In the April-September period of 2012-13 fiscal, the deficit has touched 65.6 per cent of the full year target.
Chidambaram had earlier said that the fiscal deficit could go up to 5.3 per cent of the GDP in the current fiscal in view of rising subsidy outgo and subdued tax collection.
Last week, the government sold 5.58 per cent stake in HCL for about Rs 808 crore at an average price of Rs 156.56 apiece, with bulk of the bids coming from LIC and PSU banks.
The government has already initiated the process of disinvestment of 10 per cent of its stake in NMDC, 9.3 per cent in MMTC and 9.5 per cent in NTPC. Besides, the Cabinet has also okayed disinvestment of 12.1 per cent in Nalco.
