Economic Survey favours raising Rs.25,000 crore from divestment

September 15th, 2009 NEW DELHI - The shipping ministry has approved the Department of Economic Affairs' proposal to divest government state in Cochin shipyard, Shipping Secretary A.P.V.N. Sarma said here Tuesday.

July 14th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee Tuesday said the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government remained committed to divesting stakes in the state-run companies, but without diluting their public sector character. Replying to the debate on the national budget in the Lok Sabha, the lower house of parliament, the finance minister said there was some disappointment that not enough was said on the government's divestment policy in his July 6 budget speech.

July 11th, 2009 KOLKATA - The Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) Saturday cautioned against raising funds through divestment of profitable state-run units to finance the fiscal deficit, terming this disastrous. "The corporate world is not entirely happy with the proposals in the union budget.

July 6th, 2009 NEW DELHI - The government will raise Rs.1,120 crore (Rs.11.2 billion/$224 million) this fiscal from sale of government equity in state-owned units, according to the budget papers Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee presented in parliament Monday. In 2009-10, "disinvestment proceeds have been estimated at Rs.1,120 crore which includes disinvestment of a small portion of equity in Rail India Technical and Economic Services (RITES), Cochin Ship Yard Ltd, Telecommunications Consultants India Ltd, Manganese Ore India Ltd, Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Ltd, and Satluj Jal Vidyut Nigam Ltd," the Receipts Budget 2009-10 said.

July 6th, 2009 NEW DELHI - The government will raise the the allocation for cleaning India's rivers and lakes to Rs.562 crore ($110 million) in fiscal 2009-10 from Rs.335 crore last fiscal, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee announced Monday while presenting the union budget in parliament. Mentioning that the government had unveiled its National Action Plan on Climate Change last year and that eight national missions under it were being finalised, Mukherjee committed that the government would provide "necessary funds" for all the missions.

July 6th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee Monday revived the government's divestment programme, promising equity of state-run enterprises in the hands of general public. He also said that in areas like banking and insurance, specifically, the majority control in state-run companies would remain in the hands of the government with fresh infusion of equity to help them remain globally competitive.

July 6th, 2009 NEW DELHI - The government has earmarked Rs.700 crore for the ministry of culture with more allocations for zonal cultural centres, the Sangeet Natak Akademi, Lalit Kala Akademi, Sahitya Akademi, the National School of Drama, the Asiatic Society, the National Gallery of Modern Art and the Archaeological Survey of India. In the 2009-10 budget presented by Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee in parliament Monday, Rs.36.1 crore has been earmarked for the building projects of attached and subordinate offices of the ministry of culture.

July 2nd, 2009 NEW DELHI - Suggesting some sweeping reforms in areas like foreign direct investment, divestment, taxation and the subsidy regime, India's Economic Survey says the country can achieve 7.75 percent growth this year despite the difficult global circumstances. The economy can even expand much higher than last year's growth if the monsoon rains were normal, said the country's annual economic report card for 2008-09 tabled in parliament Thursday by Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee.

July 2nd, 2009 NEW DELHI - The flow of credit to the farm sector increased to Rs.264,455 crore ($55 billion) last fiscal from Rs.254,657 crore in 2007-08, India's Economic Survey for 2008-09 released Thursday said. But agriculture growth fell sharply to 1.6 percent from 4.9 percent the year before.

July 2nd, 2009 CHENNAI - Life insurance penetration in India dipped in 2007, first time since the sector was opened up for private players a decade ago, said the country's Economic Survey for 2008-09 released here Thursday. "The life insurance penetration in India increased from 1.77 percent in 2000 to 4.1 percent in 2006, before declining to 4 percent in 2007," the survey tabled in parliament by Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee said.

June 28th, 2009 NEW DELHI - The government can raise about Rs.80,000 crore ($16.6 billion) by divesting stake in public sector units, says an industry lobby report. "Dilution of stake in leading public sector units alone could fetch at least Rs.80,000 crore," the report by Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry (Assocham) said, adding that this amount could be used to bring down the fiscal deficit burden.

June 19th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Delhiites grew richer with per capita income growing at a faster pace compared to other states, while it increased its literate population to 82 percent, as per the state government's economic survey. Delhi's per capita income more than doubled the national average to stand at Rs.60,189, an increase of 5.6 percent over the previous corresponding period, according to the Economic Survey of Delhi (2008-09) presented by Delhi's Finance Minister A.K.

June 8th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Divestment of even minority stake in state-owned firms can raise nearly $95 billion (Rs.450,309 crore), help clean the red ink on the government's balance sheet and make enough room for another fiscal stimulus, said an independent study released Monday. The study by Delhi-based brokerage firm SMC Capitals said as much as $94.77 billion can be raised from the sale of equity in state-run firms even if the government retains 51 percent controlling stake.

June 1st, 2009 NEW DELHI - India's telecom equipment industry reported 20 percent growth in revenues at Rs.114,527 crore ($24 billion) in 2008-09, compared to 24 percent rise recorded the year before, an industry survey said Monday. The survey was conducted by Voice&Data, the flagship telecom magazine of Cybermedia.

April 25th, 2009 THIRUVANANTHAPURAM - Banks in Kerala have posted a marginal growth of 6.3 percent in advances from Rs.80,131 crore in June 2008 to Rs.85,174 crore as on Dec 31, according to the State Level Bankers Committee (SLBC). The SLBC in a meeting here said loans given to the education sector reported the biggest jump when it went up from Rs.2,920 crore in June to Rs.4,049 crore in December.