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The government plans to launch a second public Infrastructure Investment Trust (Invit), ready three companies for IPOs, and reduce stakes in PSU banks closer to 75%, Chawla said. Also Read: Satellite lights, Google searches cut state growth estimation errors by up to 62%: RBI study "We have already identified a cluster of 10 national highways, which will provide the underlying capital asset. So, the second public Invit is in the works and hopefully before the close of this financial year, it will also come to fruition,” Chawla said. “We are also bringing down the equity (stake) in nationalized banks gradually to the minimum public shareholding norm of 75%. that is part of the mandate that we have to share the wealth with the people and also in line with regulations...we are moving ahead on that path." The government raised Rs 9,500 crore by monetising some highway assets through the Raajmarg Infra Investment Trust (RIIT), which was listed in March 2026. Chawla said public sector banks with government stakes above 75% are automatic targets for the Centre to reduce ownership. Currently, the government has more than 90% stake in Punjab & Sind Bank, Indian Overseas Bank and UCO Bank. "We have a market research department, which we call Kurukshetra. We analyze each asset on its merits and take a decision as per the market conditions and as per our internal research to figure out and decide which asset to monetize and when. We have about 70 listed companies in the basket on which we can take a call,” he said. So far this year, the government has raised Rs 62,124 crore through OFS, Invits and stake sales. It is expected to surpass its targeted Rs 80,000 crore for the current fiscal after the completion of Fairfax Financial Holdings’ Rs 52,878-crore deal to buy IDBI Bank. Chawla said he expects to close the IDBI deal by the end of the fiscal after Fairfax gets approvals from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), concludes the share purchase agreements and finalizes an open offer as per takeover guidelines. "The IDBI restructuring is a reform in continuum...It is being restructured as a going concern. Even today, it is a board-managed company and in future also, it will remain a board-managed company. With confidence, we expect that IDBI will enhance its performance, it will improve value and will become one of the major banks in the country and will also acquire a global footprint," Chawla said. Also Read: RBI issues final leverage ratio rules for banks, effective April 2027 He said the existing employees of IDBI are fully protected as their service conditions cannot be amended to their disadvantage by Fairfax while there is a dedicated fund for pensioners. Chawla said DIPAM had to draw up a share purchase agreement for a bank for the very first time, had to use an alternate valuation methodology to get fair value, and negotiate market volatility due to the low float in IDBI Bank. "Team DIPAM has worked very hard and that will pay off and we will provide full support to the budget," Chawla said. (What's moving Sensex and Nifty Track latest market news, stock tips, Budget 2025, Share Market on Budget 2025 and expert advice, on ETMarkets. Also, ETMarkets.com is now on Telegram. For fastest news alerts on financial markets, investment strategies and stocks alerts, subscribe to our Telegram feeds .) Subscribe to ET Prime and read the Economic Times ePaper Online.and Sensex Today. Top Trending Stocks: SBI Share Price, Axis Bank Share Price, HDFC Bank Share Price, Infosys Share Price, Wipro Share Price, NTPC Share Price (What's moving Sensex and Nifty Track latest market news, stock tips, Budget 2025, Share Market on Budget 2025 and expert advice, on ETMarkets. Also, ETMarkets.com is now on Telegram. For fastest news alerts on financial markets, investment strategies and stocks alerts, subscribe to our Telegram feeds .) Subscribe to ET Prime and read the Economic Times ePaper Online.and Sensex Today. Top Trending Stocks: SBI Share Price, Axis Bank Share Price, HDFC Bank Share Price, Infosys Share Price, Wipro Share Price, NTPC Share Price
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