INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Centre is keen to push its ambitious Asset Monetisation ProgrammeIn its Union Budget for 2021-22, the Centre had announced that several of
its core assets will be rolled out for financial fruition under the Asset Monetisation Programme.While the Government has earmarked several
blue-chip sectors under this programme, in the energy sector, oil and gas pipelines of Gas Authority of India Ltd, Indian Oil Corporation
Ltd and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd are to be monetised.The Government plans to generate Rs 17,000 crore through monetising the
abovementioned assets in the current fiscal (2021-22).To achieve this aim, Gas Authority of India Ltd has identified two pipelines and is in
the process of setting up an infrastructure investment trusts or InvITs for the purpose.Indian Oil has identified two hydrogen plants and a
pipeline for monetising while Hindustan Petroleum too has initiated action to identify assets for monetisation.What is Asset Monetisation
value of under utilised and unused government assets
To keep the whole process transparent, an asset monetisation dashboard was proposed to be created to track the progress and provide
visibility to investors.Soon after the Budget, the Prime Minister had said that the plan is to monetise 100 government and PSU-owned assets
The plan is to continue for the next five years.As part of this ambitious plan, the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has been set a
target to raise Rs 30,000 crore through asset monetisation over the next three years, while other key economic ministries including the
Petroleum Ministry too have been given such ambitious targets.What are InvITs?To achieve success under the Asset Monetisation Programme, the
Government is looking at the Infrastructure Investment Trusts or InvITs route.Under InvITs, the land assets are transferred to a trust
enables direct investment of money from individual and institutional investors in infrastructure projects to earn a small portion of the
income as return.InvITs enable developers of infrastructure assets to monetise their assets by pooling multiple assets under a single entity
In India, InvITs are governed by SEBI (Infrastructure Investment Trusts) (Amendment) Regulations, 2016.InvITs are fast becoming a preferred
route for private equity investors to hold operating infrastructure assets and for infrastructure developers to monetise their investments
