In her speech, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said that the government proposes to sell a part of its holding in LIC by initial public offering. The minister also said that the government will ensure a mechanism to address liquidity constraints of NBFCs and house finance corporations. “Govt to offer support by guaranteeing securities floated to provide liquidity for NBFCs,” said the minister.
However, the minister did not reveal the percentage of holding that it would sell.
She also said that the government will sell its stake in IDBI Bank to private investors. Amendment to the Banking Regulation Act to strengthen co-operative banks were also announced by the finance minister. Talking about co-op banks, the minister said that the deposit insurance cover for bank failure will be increased from the current Rs 1 lakh to Rs 5 lakh.
FM Sitharaman said that the government proposes to expand exchange traded fund by floating a debt ETF that will consist primarily of government securities.
“To address liquidity constraints of NBFCs and housing finance corporations, partial credit guarantee scheme to be launched by government,” said the minister.