Dividend bounty for govt from non-financial PSUs

At 80,000 crore, FY27 receipts may cross budget estimates to touch a record

- Harsh Kumar

The Centre expects dividend receipts in FY27 from non-financial central public sector enterprises (CPSEs) and its minority shareholdings to touch a record 80,000 crore, offering a modest cushion to its fiscal math, according to two people aware of the matter.

If the projections hold, receipts would exceed both the FY27 Budget estimate of 75,000 crore and last year’s record 78,438 crore, reflecting the sustained profitability of government-owned enterprises despite continued capital expenditure commitments.

“The anticipated record payout is being driven by healthy earnings from oil and gas, coal, power, mining and infrastructure companies, coupled with the government's policy of encouraging profitable CPSEs to maintain consistent dividend payouts while balancing their capex requirements,” one of the persons cited above said on the condition of anonymity.

“The department of investment and public asset management (Dipam) has long followed a policy under which CPSEs are encouraged to pay a minimum annual dividend of 30% of profit after tax or 5% of net worth, whichever is higher, subject to the financial health and investment requirements of the enterprise.