Government said to plan $81 billion of infrastructure asset sales

NEW DELHI: The government plans to raise Rs 6 lakh crore ($81 billion) from selling state-owned infrastructure assets over next four years to help bolster the government’s finances and plug its budget deficit, according to people familiar with the matter.

The plan will include sale of road and railway assets, airports, power transmission lines and gas pipelines, said the people who asked not to be identified as they aren’t authorized to share the details. Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman is scheduled to make the road-map public at 5 pm Monday.

The planned sales are in line with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s strategic divestment policy, under which the state will retain presence in only a few identified sectors with the rest privatised.