As of July 2026, India has sold stakes in 9 public sector firms, raising nearly 270 billion rupees ($2.8 billion), its highest in over 10 years. This week, the Indian government sold a 6.5% stake in state-owned insurer Life Insurance Corporation of India and raised $3.3 billion. The funds raised from these stake sales will be crucial for India as it faces deepening macroeconomic headwinds.
The Indian government has been rushing to sell stakes in state-owned companies this year. So far, it has pared its stake in 10 public sector companies, raising more than 620 billion rupees ($6.5 billion) this year. This week, I unpack what's driving India to meet its often-missed disinvestment target.
The Big Story
It can be difficult to be the world's fastest-growing large economy when inflationary pressures and fiscal constraints threaten to put the brakes on government spending. But India cannot afford to lose its growth edge as it competes for the attention of global investors.
To keep its growth engine running amid a widening fiscal deficit, the country is ramping up stake sales in state-owned companies, with the government offloading shares in 10 firms since the start of the year, despite dull market conditions.
The government has sold shares in several companies including Cochin Shipyard, Indian Railways Finance Corp, NHPC, and Coal India this year and, on Wednesday, it completed one of its biggest stake sales.
It raked in $3.3 billion by selling a 6.5% stake in the country's top life insurer, Life Insurance Corporation of India. The share sale was priced at a 10% discount to attract buyers.
The Disinvestment Rush
Excluding LIC, India has sold stakes in 9 state-owned firms in 2026 and raised nearly 270 billion rupees ($2.8 billion), its highest in more than 10 years, according to Indian market intelligence provider Prime Database. And LIC alone surpasses that number by a good margin, signaling the state's increasing proclivity toward raising funds without widening the fiscal deficit.
