Hits and misses: India's disinvestment strategy needs to mind markets

It is rare for the government to sell assets when prices and sentiment are high

India’s first major disinvestment decision came in the liberalisation budget of 1991, when Manmohan Singh, as finance minister, set a target of Rs 2,500 crore.

The government exceeded the target by raising Rs 3,038 crore—a rare achievement, shows data from bsepsu.com, a tracker by Prime Database and the BSE. In the last 28 years, there have only been six occasions when the target was achieved or exceeded.

An analysis of data suggests that governments have often failed to make the full use of favourable market conditions. The seven best years for the stock market, when valuations were