PSUs' dividend windfall a treasure for govt finances

The dividend windfall from government's holding in public sector undertakings will provide much needed relief to the treasury hard pressed on account of falling revenue and rising expenses for Covid relief work.

According to estimates, with the economy coming back on rails after getting ravaged in the two waves of Covid, dividend income for the government from PSUs may shoot up again in FY22 close to the original budgeted levels for FY21 at over Rs 60,000 crore.

Government sources said that most PSUs are performing well and numbers for the first quarter are indicative of rising revenues and profitability. If this is sustained, the government may get higher income as PSUs dividend this year. Though official sources maintained that no numbers had been worked out as yet, it could be close to double of Rs 30,000 crore garnered from roughly two dozen PSUs in FY21.

In a tweet earlier, Dipam secretary Tuhin Kanta Pandey had said: "Dividend receipts of GoI (Government of India) from CPSEs stand at about Rs 30,369 crore in the current financial year (as of 22.3.2021)." This was actually much below the original budget estimate of dividend income at Rs 65,746.96 crore estimated in FY21 from CPSEs.

It is expected that energy sector companies, especially in oil and gas and power sectors would contribute the maximum towards dividend income of the government this year. OIl sector PSUs are expected to fare well in FY22 as demand for their products, which had fallen last year is picking up fast and reaching pre-Covid levels. Also, firm crude prices may help them make big inventory gains.