The Centre’s PSU disinvestment plan got a big boost with the Bharat-22 Exchange traded Fund (ETF) subscribed four times and raising ₹14,500 crore.

“The new fund offer got a subscription of approximately ₹32,000 crore from 3.35 lakh applications,” said Neeraj Kumar Gupta, Secretary, Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM), on Monday.

With this, the Centre is estimated to have raised ₹52,500 crore from disinvestment in public sector units, making it the highest ever mop-up from stake sales in a fiscal year.

The receipts are also expected to give some relief to the Exchequer, facing revenue losses from the excise duty cut on fuel and reduction in GST rates of over 200 items, while trying to meet the fiscal deficit target of 3.2 per cent of GDP.

The Centre plans to raise ₹72,500 crore from stake sales in PSUs this fiscal, including ₹15,000 crore from strategic disinvestment and ₹11,000 crore from listing of public sector insurers.

The Finance Ministry is still working on a number of issues, including minority-stake sales and initial public offers in PSUs such as IRCON, IRCTC, Bharat Dynamics Ltd, Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Ltd and Mishra Dhatu Nigam Ltd, apart from strategic disinvestment in PSUs such as Air India, Engineering Projects (India) Ltd and Central Electronics Ltd.

Additionally, a planned merger of oil PSUs ONGC and HPCL is also on the anvil.

Asked about all these, Gupta said that every type of disinvestment is on track. “Every deal is progressing.”

Bharat-22 ETF The initial amount to be raised through the ETF-NFO was fixed at ₹8,000 crore. “The issue size was increased to cater to the demand of retail investors and retirement funds,” Gupta said.

The portion reserved for retail investors was subscribed 1.45 times; retirement funds, 1.50 times; and NIIs and QIBs, seven times.

The portion for anchor investors was subscribed 6.1 times and received bids for ₹12,103 crore.

The issue opened for subscription for retail investors from November 15 to 17.

The ETF, which consists of shares of Maharatna and Navratna public sector units, including Coal India and GAIL, as well as blue chip private companies such as Larsen & Tubro (L&T), Axis Bank and ITC, is managed by ICICI Prudential Mutual Fund.

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