Govt plans NMDC, BHEL stake sales; will it work?

India is looking to raise Rs 69 billion by selling a stake in state-run miner NMDC in 2012/13, a senior finance ministry official said on Monday, in a move that appeared aimed at boosting investor sentiment. The government also plans to raise Rs 34 billion through the sale of stakes in state-run capital goods-maker BHEL and Rs 28 billion in Hindustan Copper in the current fiscal year, the official said. [caption id=“attachment_347909” align=“alignleft” width=“380” caption=“The government raised barely 155 billion rupees through stake sales in the fiscal year 2011/12 . Reuters”]  [/caption] The government hopes to raise a total of 300 billion rupees through stake sales in state-run firms in 2012/13, according to the budget published in March. Through the proceeds from stake sales, the government is hoping to meet its fiscal deficit target of 5.1 percent of gross domestic produce for this fiscal year. The government raised barely 155 billion rupees through stake sales in the fiscal year 2011/12 due to poor market conditions. That fell far short of the targeted 400 billion rupees and meant India’s fiscal deficit ballooned to 5.9 percent from the targeted 4.6 percent.   Reuters