Will surpass the asset monetisation target of Rs 88,000 cr this fiscal: Kant

Amitabh Kant, CEO of government think tank Niti Aayog while speaking at the India Today’s Budget Roundtable 2022 today said  that the government is absolutely confident of achieving and surpassing the asset monetisation target of Rs 88,190 crore for FY22.

“We are absolutely confident of achieving and surpassing the target set under the Rs 6 lakh crore National Monetisation Pipeline. I think the government strategy for asset monetisation is a right strategy.”

He also emphasised on raising the private debt and said, “We need to increase of current private debt to GDP ratio from the current 55 per cent to 100 per cent.” Kant also went on to add that the monetisation strategy is a right recipe for growth and infrastructure development.

According to him, some sectors’ performance was good as far as monetisation was concerned. “We will probably add more assets going ahead and we will keep on fine tuning and I think the private sector must run the economy and business must be run by the businesses only,” Kant said.

Throwing light on the Budget, he said that the large capex at 4.1 per cent of the GDP will crowd private sector investment. Talking about the challenge in the way, he added, “You need to be ready with the projects, there is challenge for everyone, and all sectors need to be ready with all the approvals and they should not be waiting till the last quarters,” he added.

Talking about the two banks and one insurance company privatisation announced in the Budget last year,  Kant added that the government has passed on the recommendation on this front and bank privatisation is also at an advanced stage.

Clearing the fog around cryptocurrency regulation, Kant said, “We cannot ban crypto in isolation as it is a worldwide phenomenon. You cannot ban as it will lead to flight of the capital, flight of skilled manpower.”

He added that the government is in mode of interacting and discussing about cryptocurrency and will decide going ahead. “We will see clear answer as we go ahead.” Kant added

Kant, speaking at the Budget roundtable, also said that the battery swapping policy will be out in next 3 months. Also, providing clarity on Tesla, he said, “Government is keen on having Tesla manufacturing in India.”