India seeks bigger, more frequent dividends from state-run firms

The Centre wants the public sector companies to pay 25 percent more dividend this financial year

The Central government is asking state-run companies to increase dividend payouts by about 25% this financial year as Asia’s third-largest economy seeks to bolster finances in a volatile global environment, according to people with knowledge of the matter.

Officials from the Department of Investment and Public Asset Management are also meeting company executives to request that that these payments be made quarterly rather than annually, the people said, asking not to be identified as the information isn’t public. The government wants to garner about Rs 90,000 crore ($10.5 billion) through dividends in the year through March 2026, the people added, compared with Rs 74,020 crore received in the previous year.

The finance ministry didn’t immediately respond to an email seeking comment.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government announced tax cuts for the middle class in his latest budget and will now depend on higher dividend payouts to meet its 4.4% deficit target. It has already gotten help from a record 2.69 trillion rupees transfer from the central bank.