Govt dividends from CPSEs set to log record Rs 70,000 crore in FY25

Dividends paid by central public-sector enterprises (CPSEs) in 2024-25 are set to be the highest ever, with the government receiving ₹69,873 crore so far.

A government official said he was hopeful the receipts would touch ₹70,000 crore in the last week of the financial year.

In FY24, the government had received ₹63,749.3 crore, the highest till then.

In FY25, the highest payer is Coal India (₹10,252.09 crore), followed by Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (₹10,001.97 crore), Bharat Petroleum Corporation (₹3,562.47 crore), Telecommunications Consultants (India) (₹3,761.50 crore), and Hindustan Zinc (₹3,619.06 crore).

The government last year revised the dividend policy for CPSEs. According to the new guidelines, each CPSE must pay a minimum annual dividend of 30 per cent of its profit after tax (PAT) or 4 per cent of its net worth, whichever is more, unless prevented from doing so by legal provisions.

For CPSEs in the financial sector, such as non-banking financial companies, the minimum annual dividend has been set at 30 per cent of PAT, subject to legal limits.

The policy says the stated minimum dividend is just a benchmark, and CPSEs are encouraged to pay more, taking into consideration factors like profitability, capital expenditure, cash reserves, and net worth, while maintaining proper financial leverage.

According to the Public Enterprises Survey, there are 272 operating CPSEs, of which 212 in FY24 together reported net profits of ₹3.43 trillion, around 48 per cent higher than ₹2.18 trillion during FY23.

Dividend payout to shareholders, including the government, by the 12 public-sector banks rose 33 per cent to ₹27,830 crore in FY24, indicating a significant improvement in their financial health.

Nearly 65 per cent of the dividend (₹18,013 crore) went to the government.

The PSBs recorded their highest ever aggregate net profit of ₹1.41 trillion in FY24 and their net profit in the nine months (April-December) of this financial year is ₹1.29 trillion.

In FY24, State Bank of India (SBI) contributed over 40 per cent of net profits, according to the published numbers on the exchanges.

SBI rang up profits of ₹61,077 crore, 22 per cent higher than in the previous financial year (₹50,232 crore).