Under the circumstances, new and innovative solutions need to be worked out, so that a proper price can be realised by the sale of the governments stake. When people having assets are in temporary need of funds, they normally do not sell the assets, preferring instead to raise loans against them. The government could do the same; take loans from banks against the security of the shares owned by them in public-sector units (PSUs).The trouble with adopting such a course of action is that the governments need for funds is not a temporary one, and repaying the loans may be a problem, if commercial rates are charged. On the other hand, if the market goes up in a couple of years, the sale of the shares at that time may well be enough for the government to not only repay the bank in full, but also earn a profit in the process. Banks will only be too willing to lend to the government at fine rates, since they will be taking on a practically risk-free asset. Yet another way to solve the problem would be to sell the shares at the current market price to institutions like banks, financial institutions and foreign entities. These institutions can then hold them back till conditions improve, when they can offload the shares in a booming market. The deal should have a provision for this windfall gain to be shared in some proportion between the bank and the government. Yet another way out of the impasse could be selling off the smaller PSUs tostrategic investors, who will pay a much higher price for these assets, compared to what they will fetch in the market.

Of course, while all these schemes will help solve the governments funding problem, the crux of the matter is what is needed for the economy is not only disinvestment, but privatisation. For restructuring the corporate sector, the government needs to divest not just ownership, but also control.