'Fiscal deficit up by 0.29% owing to fall in divestment receipts'

The government on Tuesday said a shortfall of Rs 26,106 crore in receipts from disinvestment pushed the fiscal deficit for 2011-12 up by 0.29 per cent.

“Because of shortfall of Rs 26,106 crore from disinvestment, the fiscal deficit got aggravated by 0.29 per cent (in 2011-12),” Finance Minister Mr Pranab Mukherjee told the Rajya Sabha in a written reply.

As against the target of Rs 40,000 crore during 2012-13, the government has been able to raise only Rs 13,894 crore from sale of equity in public sector undertakings.

Shortfall from disinvestment, lower tax receipts and high subsidy bill, the fiscal deficit in the current year is estimated to go up to 5.9 per cent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) against the original estimate of 4.6 per cent.

To another question, Minister of State for Finance Mr S S Palanimanickam said that in the current fiscal, the government has “divested 5 per cent paid-up equity capital of Power Finance Corporation and 4.91 per cent paid-up equity of ONGC and realised a total amount of Rs 13,894 crore“.

On ONGC, he said the government completed disinvestment of 4.91 per cent paid-up equity capital during the month and government’s holding stands at 69.23 per cent.

The stake sale in other oil sector companies would be undertaken during the course of time, he said.

In response to another question, Mr Palanimanickam said the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs decided on March 1 to enable Department of Disinvestment to respond to buy-back proposals of Central Public Sector Enterprises as well as sale of shares of one CPSE to another.

The disinvestment proceeds will be deposited in National Investment Fund from April 2012 to March 2013 and will be available in full towards capital expenditure in respect of identified social sector schemes, he said.

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