The Centre has advanced plans to list three central public sector enterprises (CPSEs) on the market this financial year, despite putting four to five planned stake sales in public sector companies on hold for the second half of FY27 as falling share prices complicate disinvestment plans. DIPAM Secretary Arunish Chawla confirmed that the momentum in stake sales and public offerings would continue in FY27, with MCL, IIFCL, and SECL identified as the three CPSEs for listing. The proposed offerings would mark a resumption of government IPOs after a gap of more than two years, with the last such offering being Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency Limited (IREDA) in FY24. IIFCL has already filed its draft red herring prospectus (DRHP) and DIPAM has begun preparations, inviting bids to appoint a registrar and share transfer agent, as well as an advertising agency for the proposed offering.
The development comes as the NSE Nifty 50 has fallen 12% since the war involving Iran and the US began, while the Nifty PSE index, which tracks 20 public sector stocks, has declined 14% over the same period. Shares of Indian Overseas Bank and Hindustan Zinc have dropped as much as 17%, contributing significantly to the overall decline in public sector stocks. Rising oil prices amid escalating tensions in the Middle East, along with higher US Treasury yields, inflation concerns and rising interest rates, have added to the pressure on equities. The correction has raised concerns about the valuations the Centre could secure from fresh share sales, making the timing of future disinvestments increasingly challenging.
IIFCL, wholly owned by the Government of India, was established in 2006 to provide long-term financial assistance to viable infrastructure projects and registered with the Reserve Bank of India as an infrastructure finance non-banking financial company in 2013. IIFCL had a net worth of ₹17,898 crore at the end of FY26, but its net profit fell 36% year-on-year to ₹1,379 crore in the financial year, weighed down by mark-to-market losses on offshore borrowings amid foreign exchange fluctuations. The proceeds from IIFCL's initial public offering (IPO) will accrue directly to the government, its sole shareholder, while proceeds from stake sales in MCL and SECL will go to their parent, Coal India, with the government potentially benefiting indirectly through dividends in FY28.
The two coal subsidiaries are among Coal India's largest operating units and account for a substantial share of its production and profits. MCL produced 218.31 million tonnes (mt) of coal in FY26, the highest among the group's subsidiaries, and reported a net profit of ₹10,698 crore. SECL produced 176.29 mt and posted a net profit of ₹4,755 crore. Coal India's total production fell to 768.19 million tonnes in FY26 from 781.06 million tonnes a year earlier, while consolidated profit after tax declined to ₹31,071 crore from ₹35,450 crore, though revenue from operations remained broadly stable at ₹1,68,400 crore compared with ₹1,69,177 crore in FY25.
The government has mobilised nearly ₹62,124 crore through disinvestment and asset monetisation so far, with disinvestment receipts accounting for ₹55,757 crore and asset monetisation contributing ₹6,367 crore. The Centre has set a target of ₹80,000 crore for asset monetisation in FY27 and has effectively met its ₹80,000 crore target for miscellaneous capital receipts after including about ₹26,500 crore expected from the strategic disinvestment of IDBI Bank, which is nearing completion. The timing of further stake sales will depend on market conditions, officials said, as the government reassesses the timing of further stake sales and waits for market conditions to improve before proceeding.
