NEW DELHI: The government plans to raise about Rs 30,000 crore next financial year from stake sale in public sector firms to meet a significant part of the revenue shortfall, as it looks to bring down fiscal deficit from the 16-year high of 6.8% recorded this year.

The disinvestment department is currently working on its provisional estimates. The final figure will be sent to the finance ministry, which is preparing the Budget for 2010-11. The proposal envisages divestment of stakes in 12-15 firms in the forthcoming year. “We are suggesting a target of Rs 30,000 crore for the next fiscal,” said an official with the department.

The divestment target for next year is lower than the Rs 32,569 crore, expected to be raised this year. The year to March 2010 is seen as the best year for the government in terms of divestment proceeds.

While a final list of PSUs that will hit the market next fiscal year will be compiled only by March, the department is already firming up plans to divest stakes in Steel Authority of India (SAIL), Hindustan Copper, Manganese Ore India (MOIL) and MMTC.

Sale of stakes in SAIL and MMTC is expected to bring big money to the government, while Hindustan Copper and MOIL are expected to fetch between Rs 2,000 crore and Rs 3,000 crore. “Ideally, only one PSU should hit the markets every month. The follow-on and initial public offers need to be spaced in such a manner that there is enough investor appetite,” the official said, requesting anonymity.

The government has already decided to defer the initial offer of Satluj Jal Vidyut Nigam to late April or early May to avoid a glut in the market. A 10% stake sale in the company is expected to fetch the government Rs 1,200 crore.

While the disinvestment department wants the government to divest its stake in the state-owned telco BSNL in the coming fiscal, it is as yet unclear whether the plan will actually fructify. Coal India is another company that could come to the market next year. The government is banking heavily on disinvestment proceeds for financing its fiscal deficit in 2010-11.

Though finance minister Pranab Mukherjee had estimated that the fiscal deficit would be reduced to 5.5% of the GDP this financial year, indications are that it could be a little higher than his estimate.

The government is worried about the fiscal deficit, the amount it needs to borrow to meet excess of expenditure over its receipts, as high borrowings next year could crowd the market for funds, pushing interest rates higher. The country’s GDP grew 6.7% in 2008-09 after recording 9%-plus growth in the three preceding years.