Dividends from central public sector enterprises (CPSEs) have turned into a steady and robust source of revenue for the Centre and are set to outshine proceeds from disinvestment and are likely to exceed the Budget Estimate of Rs 56,000 crore for the fiscal. The Union Budget 2025-26 is also likely to set an ambitious target for dividends from CPSEs, likely to be higher than this year’s Budgeted target.
For FY25, the Centre has Budgeted dividends from CPSEs at Rs 56,000 crore. Official data reveals that dividends from CPSEs have already brought in Rs 48,375.77 crore. This includes dividends from 77 CPSEs with the highest being from Coal India Ltd of Rs 8,073.28 crore followed by Oil and Natural Gas Corporation of India Ltd that paid Rs 6,297.54 to the Government of India this fiscal.
With CPSEs seen to continue doing well, proceeds from dividends are seen to remain robust next fiscal as year and could be budgeted at about Rs 60,000 crore or so, if not higher. The new dividend policy of the Centre has also mandated state run firms to pay a minimum dividend of 30% of their profit after tax or 4% of its net worth every year, under which each CPSE would be expected to pay a minimum annual dividend of 30% of profit after tax or 4% of its net worth, which in effect would mean that dividends continue to provide hearty revenue to the Centre in the coming year as well.
In past fiscal years as well, CPSE dividends have been strong and have exceeded their Budgeted targets. In FY24, CPSEs gave Rs 63,749.29 crore as dividend while in FY23 and FY22, they came in at a little more than Rs 59,000 crore.
Proceeds from stake sales have remained subdued so far this fiscal at just about Rs 8,625.05 crore. While the Budget does not have a separate category of receipts from PSU stake sales now, it has estimated Rs 50,000 crore from “miscellaneous capital receipts” in FY25 from disinvestment and asset monetisation.