A broadsheet regarding disinvestment is expected to be announced in the Union Budget by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on February 1, 2021. This is to be expected as the new policy for Public Sector Enterprises is supposed to be cleared by the Union Cabinet.

According to a senior government official, the matter was discussed at the Cabinet meeting and the Finance Minister may make a separate announcement on this issue indicating that the policy may be part of the Budget announcement. The policy was announced as part of the Atmanirbhar Bharat initiative on May 17 by the Finance Minister who then spoke about a list of strategic sectors requiring the presence of PSEs in the public interest which would be notified in the future. The private sector will also be allowed in strategic sectors apart from the one enterprise remaining in the public sector. In the case of other sectors, PSEs will be privatized. Also, for minimizing wasteful administrative costs, the number of enterprises in strategic sectors will generally be one to four; others will be privatized/merged/brought under holding companies.

In India, there are more than 200 Central PSEs out of which only 55 are listed. The new policy is expected to give a push to disinvestment, whether minority or strategic sale. This policy allows minority stake sale and makes the CPSE get listed on stock exchanges besides smaller stake sale in listed CPSEs. Also, at the same time, many listed or unlisted CPSEs can be sold strategically.