Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Monday said that two Public Sector Undertaking banks and one general insurance firm will be privatised this year. She made the announcement while delivering her third Budget speech in the Lok Sabha.
However, the name of the two PSUs and the firm is yet to be known.
“Inspite of the coronavirus pandemic, we kept working towards strategic sale of BPCL [Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited], IDBI Bank, Air India, which will be completed in 2021-22,” she said.
The finance minister said that idle assets will not contribute to “Atmanirbhar Bharat” or self-reliant India. “A revised mechanism will be introduced for timely closure of loss making PSUs,” she added.
Sitharaman said the NITI Aayog has also been asked to come up with the list of companies that may be disinvested next. She also put disinvestment receipts at Rs 1.75 lakh crore for the fiscal year beginning April 1, 2021.
In her speech, the Union minister said the Narendra Modi government was fully prepared to revive the Indian economy that has plunged into deepest recorded slump due to the coronavirus crisis.
The finance minister also announced the Aatmanirbhar Health Yojana with an outlay of Rs 64,180 crore over six years. India, which has the world’s second highest coronavirus cases after the United States, currently spends about 1% of gross domestic product on health.
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