Disinvestment aimed at growth, not to plug fiscal deficit: DIPAM Secy

New Delhi, Feb 7 As the Budget 2021 comes up with major thrust on privatisation of public sector enterprises, Disinvestment Secretary, Tuhin Kanta Pandey has said that the government's new disinvestment policy is aimed at economic growth and employment creation, rather than plugging the vast fiscal deficit.

The statement coming from the top official gains significance as the government's expenditure has surged amid the pandemic while revenues have been impacted, leading to a massive fiscal deficit.

In an interview with , Pandey said: "Our privatisation policy is for growth and employment and not for the plugging of fiscal deficit."

The government has pegged the fiscal deficit for FY21 at 9.5 per cent of the GDP.

He is of the view that the government's latest privatisation push actually completes the liberalisation reforms of 1991.

The Secretary for the Department of Investment and Public Asset Management

( With inputs from IANS )