Now Reading: Government stake sales mark new era for public-sector companies
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Government stake sales mark new era for public-sector companies
The government has raised more than Rs 62,000 crore in 2026 by selling minority stakes in 10 public-sector companies, The Economic Times reports. The largest transaction was the Rs 31,552-crore sale of…
The Story in Brief
The government has raised more than Rs 62,000 crore in 2026 by selling minority stakes in 10 public-sector companies, The Economic Times reports. The largest transaction was the Rs 31,552-crore sale of a 6.5% stake in Life Insurance Corporation of India, taking public ownership to 10%.
Public-sector companies were created after Independence to build steel, power, mining, banking, transport and other industries that private capital could not support. Their role expanded through nationalisation before the 1991 economic crisis pushed India towards liberalisation and disinvestment. The latest sales reflect a wider question over how much of these businesses the state needs to own, even as public companies remain central to oil, coal, defence, power, railways and financial services.
The Indian Opinion
The lazy story is that every public-sector company is either a burden or a national asset that must stay fully state-owned. Both claims ignore history. These enterprises built capacity when private capital was scarce, but ownership is not the same as public purpose. The test should be clear: does each sale improve efficiency and public value without weakening strategic control? Future proceeds, management performance and service quality will show whether the policy is reform or merely fund-raising.
Source: economictimes.indiatimes.com
This story was synthesised by AI from the source linked above.
