Govt shortlists Coal India, LIC, Indian Overseas Bank, IRFC for share sale offers

New Delhi, May 25 (IANS) The government has shortlisted Coal India Ltd (CIL), Life Insurance Corporation (LIC), the Indian Overseas Bank (IOB), and the Indian Railway Finance Corporation (IRFC) among the public sector enterprises for the sale of shares in the stock market through a phased offer in the first two quarters of FY27, according to a report. 

The offers for sale will be calibrated with stable market conditions as the government wants to avoid any volatility before it proceeds to offload any shares, according to a NDTV Profit report.

Among the specific transactions under consideration, the government may dilute up to 2 per cent stake in Coal India through an offer for sale. An LIC OFS is likely in the second quarter, between July and September. Further stake dilution in the IOB and the IRFC is under active consideration, though the timing of the offer for sale depends on market stability, the source-based NDTV Profit report states.

The government has fixed an ambitious target of realising Rs 80,000 crore through disinvestment and monetisation of assets in FY27. This target is about 135 per cent higher than the revised estimate of Rs 33,837 crore for FY26, relying on big-ticket strategic sales and Offer for Sale (OFS) pipelines in major public sector entities to bolster non-tax revenues.

The government has already been active on the divestment front, having divested a 2.17 per cent stake in the IOB in December 2025 and a 2 per cent stake in the IRFC in February 2026.

Besides, the government announced an 8 per cent stake sale in Central Bank of India, where the non-retail offer for sale portion was subscribed 2.35 times.

At the post-budget press conference, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had stated that the government will continue to pursue all disinvestment proposals approved by the cabinet, signalling continuity in the asset-sale strategy despite slower progress in 2025-26. The government prepares its pipeline monetising assets in accordance with the capacity of the stock market to absorb the shares.

A senior government official said the government has a "very strong asset monetisation plan" backed by a clearly defined pipeline. "A pipeline is prepared, and the government hopes to reap the dividends from that."

--IANS

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