Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Monday released a blueprint for the second phase of India’s public asset monetization, which mostly involves handing over assets like airports, highways and mines to the private sector for a defined period for redevelopment. The exercise will mobilize ₹10.82 trillion by fiscal year 2030 (FY30) and another ₹5.9 trillion during the entire concession period of the asset under private sector management.
The pipeline prepared by Niti Aayog marks a significant jump in scale compared to the first such asset monetization pipeline implemented in the FY22-25 period with a target of ₹6 trillion.
Niti Aayog chief executive B.V.R. Subrahmanyam explained at a select media briefing that 89% of that target has been achieved, mobilizing ₹5.3 trillion, mostly from highways, coal, mines, petroleum and natural gas and ports.
To be sure, the funds go not just to the central government, but also to public sector companies, port authorities and state governments, depending on the asset ownership structure.
A finance ministry statement said that the target of ₹16.72 trillion also covers the ₹5.8 trillion investments that the private sector will make for construction or maintenance of the assets handed over to them.
The second phase asset monetization blueprint is aligned with the mission of achieving Viksit Bharat through accelerated infrastructure development, the ministry stated quoting Sitharaman. The blueprint has the potential to fuel India’s growth momentum, the minister said.
Out of the ₹10.82 trillion to be mobilized up to FY30, the central government will likely get ₹80,000-90,000 crore every year. The plan does not envisage pure commercial sale of land, which does not involve asset creation.
The monetized assets will go to private sector for redevelopment, but the legal title will not change and will come back to the government at the end of the concession period, except in the cases of sale of equity as part of disinvestment or strategic sale.
Subrahmanyam said asset monetization is an innovative way of raising resources for further investing in infrastructure without the additional fiscal pressure on the government.
The Niti Aayog plan is in response to finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s announcement in her FY26 budget speech that a ₹10 trillion asset monetization pipeline will be prepared to be executed in the 2025-30 period, for which regulatory and fiscal measures will be finetuned.
The plan involves not only transfer of assets to private sector for a limited period, but also divestment of portions of listed entities to unlock additional capital, securitization of cash flows or strategic commercial auctions.
The monetization plan covers 12 sectors such as highways, railways, power, petroleum and natural gas, civil aviation, ports, warehousing and storage, urban infrastructure, coal, mines, telecom and tourism.
“The biggest difference between asset monetization and disinvestment is that you do not lose the title of the asset. The asset remains yours. So, after the concession period, say 15, 30 or 35 years, the asset comes back to the owner. This is the biggest advantage,” Subrahmanyam said, explaining the dominance of asset transfers to private sector for a defined period and its development in the public-private partnership model, in the plan.
Highways, multimodal logistic parks and ropeways account for a little more than a fourth of the targeted ₹16.72 trillion monetization programme. Railways, power and ports account for 16-17% each, followed by urban infrastructure, which is expected to account for 13% of the target.
In FY26 alone, the plan is to mobilize ₹2.49 trillion from asset monetization, the detailed plan showed. Of this, disinvestment is only a small target. Budget documents showed the FY26 revised estimates for disinvestment is ₹33,837 crore. For FY27, the government has a disinvestment target of ₹80,000 crore.
The asset monetization plan showed that in FY27, the Centre’s consolidated fund of India and agencies including Railways and public sector entities will mobilize ₹3.26 trillion. The target will go up slightly each year up to FY30, showed the plan shared by the government.
Sitharaman said experience from the first phase of asset monetization will serve as a guide to ensure that resources and opportunities are optimised to achieve results in a time-bound manner. The minister said ministries and departments must aim to surpass the indicated targets through proactive efforts.