The planned sale of a 60.72% stake in IDBI Bank could give India its strongest disinvestment performance in eight years and only its second Budget-beating result in nearly a decade.
India’s government is on course to finish the current financial year with disinvestment receipts above its Budget target, helped by the planned sale of IDBI Bank and a larger contribution from asset monetisation, according to Business Standard and data from the Department of Investment and Public Asset Management. That would make it only the second time in nearly a decade that the exchequer has surpassed its original disinvestment estimate, underscoring how uneven the programme has been over time.
The pattern before this year was strikingly erratic. Between FY2017 and FY2025, receipts from stake sales exceeded Budget Estimates in only FY2018 and FY2019, while several years fell far short of projections. Business Standard reported that collections peaked at just over ₹1 trillion in FY2018, about 38% above target, before slipping to around ₹95,000 crore the following year. They then dropped sharply in FY2020 and FY2021, with FY2021 seeing receipts of only ₹32,896 crore, far below the ₹2.10 trillion Budget figure.
The biggest weakness has been in strategic sales, where the government relinquishes majority control. According to Business Standard, such transactions reached their high point in FY2018, but receipts then declined for several years and fell to only ₹320 crore in FY2026. The current fiscal year has already reversed that trend in part, with the government completing the sale of more than 98% of Indian Medicines Pharmaceutical Corporation Limited for ₹118.73 crore in May 2026.
The main event, though, is IDBI Bank. The Union Cabinet has approved the transfer of a 60.72% stake to Fairfax Financial Holdings for about ₹52,878 crore, with the government and Life Insurance Corporation of India selling 30.48% and 30.24% respectively, according to LiveMint and the Financial Express. The deal still needs regulatory clearances, including the Reserve Bank of India’s “fit and proper” assessment, but it is expected to provide a significant capital infusion to the lender and support its restructuring.
DIPAM’s receipts data show why the sale matters for the wider fiscal picture. The department’s figures indicate that total collections in FY2026-27 have already reached about ₹80,074 crore when dividends, disinvestment and asset monetisation are combined, with disinvestment alone contributing roughly ₹55,757 crore. Business Standard said the IDBI transaction should add another ₹25,000 crore, lifting disinvestment receipts above the ₹80,000 crore Budget target and giving the government its strongest year in eight years, even if the total still falls short of the record set in FY2018.
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