NEW DELHI: Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman, in the Union Budget 2025, announced the launch of the second asset monetization plan for 2025-30, aiming to generate Rs 10 lakh crore by monetizing government-owned assets and reinvesting the funds into new infrastructure projects. The government will also refine regulatory and fiscal measures to ensure the plan’s successful execution.
Sitharaman highlighted that the new initiative builds on the success of the first asset monetization plan introduced in 2021, which saw Rs 6 lakh crore worth of assets identified for monetization.Under this plan, the government had set a target of Rs 2.5 lakh crore for the first two years (2021-22 and 2022-23), achieving Rs 2.3 lakh crore. In 2023-24, the goal was Rs 1.8 lakh crore, with an achievement of Rs 1.56 lakh crore.
“Building on the success of the first asset monetization plan announced in 2021, the second Plan for 2025-30 will be launched to plough back capital of Rs 10 lakh crore in new projects,” the finance minister said.
The ministry of road transport and highways and the ministry of coal were the top performers in 2023-24, contributing Rs 97,000 crore to the total monetization earnings. To further accelerate efforts, the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has already identified 33 assets for monetization in 2024-25.
In addition to the asset monetization drive, the government has proposed Rs 1.5 lakh crore in interest-free, 50-year loans to states, aimed at boosting capital expenditure and driving state-level infrastructure reforms.