Budget 2022: Slashed asset sale target raises questions about LIC IPO

'We should not conjecture on size of LIC IPO as valuation still underway,' says DIPAM Secretary

India sharply reduced its asset-sale targets, raising questions about how much it plans to raise from the marquee initial public offering of its biggest state insurer.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government on Tuesday announced it estimates Rs 78,000 crore from divestment in the year through March 31, much lower than the Rs 1.75 trillion budgeted earlier. It has already raised Rs 12,000 crore by selling stakes in other companies. 

For the next financial year, the target is Rs 65,000 crore.

That raises the question about whether the government has downgraded expectations from the IPO of Life Insurance Corporation of India,