Asset monetisation worth Rs 96,000 crore completed

The Centre has completed asset monetisation worth Rs 96,000 crore during FY22, surpassing the target of Rs 88,000 crore.

For FY23, it has set itself a goal of Rs 1.62 trillion, and already has a pipeline of assets worth Rs 1.6 trillion under advanced stages of implementation, an official said.

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday reviewed the progress made by several ministries and nudged departments to achieve the targets set for them, the official added.

The pipeline for assets to be monetised this year is being prepared by the NITI Aayog, in consultation with ministries.

Last fiscal year, it was led by the roads, power, coal and mining ministries on the back of reforms and innovative models of the Infrastructure Investment Trust (InvITs) and Toll Operate Transfer (ToT).

The ministry of roads, transport and highways has monetised assets worth Rs 23,000 crore, which included a 390-km stretch through InvIT and three ToT bundles.

The ministry of power monetised assets of Rs 9,500 crore with PowerGrid Corporation’s InvIT and NHPC’s securitisation of its operational hydel assets.

The monetisation target for the power ministry was set at Rs 7,700 crore.

New marquee investors have participated in road and power sector InvITs.

These include CPP Investments, Ontario Teachers’, Fidelity Investments, and Utilico.

With the opening up of coal mining for the private sector, and steps taken to boost domestic coal production, leading to the subsequent auctioning of 22 coal blocks, the ministry of coal was able to monetise assets worth Rs 40,000 crore.

This was against the monetisation target of Rs 3,394 crore set for FY22.

In FY22, about 31 mineral blocks were auctioned with a monetisation value of Rs 18,700 crore.

The ministry of Railways has been a laggard, and was able to monetise assets worth Rs 800-900 crore against its target of Rs 17,810 crore.

Some ministries that have not been able to achieve their target for FY22 would see those carried forward to FY23, the official quoted above said.

Some major projects are under implementation in the sectors that have not been able to achieve their monetisation targets, the official added.

These include airports, stadiums, and hill trains.

The Centre and the NITI Aayog have been engaging themselves with state governments to nudge them to monetise their assets.

Investors have identified seven-eight states keen to participate in their assets, the official said.

The government has identified assets of about Rs 6 trillion it intends to monetise over a four-year period.

Besides an Rs 88,000-crore target for FY22 and a Rs 1.62 trillion target for FY23, the Centre is looking to monetise assets worth Rs 1.79 trillion and Rs 1.67 trillion in FY24 and FY25, respectively.