New Delhi, Mar 23 (IANS): The pandemic has severely impacted the government's dividend income from central public sector enterprises (CPSEs) this year with receipts falling by almost 50 per cent from the numbers budgeted for FY21.

The main reason for this fall in collections has been strained operations of most CPSEs during the time of pandemic with the initial period of lockdown denting demand and curtailing operation of most entities.

In a tweet, Disinvestment Department (DIPAM) Secretary Tuhin Kanta Pandey said that dividend receipts of the government from CPSEs stand at about Rs 30,369 crore in the current financial year.

The government had budgeted Rs 65,746.96 crore as dividend income from the public sector in 2020-21. Even if the dividend payout improves in the remaining period of the fiscal, it is unlikely to cross the 50 per cent mark of the original target.

Sensing the dividend income would be strained in a pandemic year, the government has substantially curtailed its projections in the revised estimate putting receipts from this end at only Rs 34,717.25 crore. This is expected to be reached by close of the year.

The government has anticipated higher dividend receipt originally this year as its other sources of revenue remained sluggish. With this mind, the original projection of over Rs 60,000 crore was kept against previous year's (FY20) actual of Rs 34,717.25 crore.