The idea is to do away with the need for the approval of the Core Group of Secretaries on Divestment for privatisation of companies, especially in non-strategic sectors.
This year is set to be the third consecutive year when India's share of IPOs has fallen relative to the rest of the world.
Sebi had, in February, dropped allegations of fraudulent and unfair trade practices against NSE's former heads Ravi Narain and Chitra Ramakrishna in the co-lo case.
The government has brought in changes to the investment pattern for non-government provident funds, and superannuation and gratuity funds, enabling them to invest up to 5 per cent in the units of Category I and Category II alternative investment funds (AIFs), subject to some caveats. The development is part of the central government's strategy to channelise domestic savings and improve their returns to attract more investment in the said sectors. At present, these funds typically invest a minimum 45 per cent in government securities, besides new instruments, such as exchange-traded funds and real estate investment funds, while a portion in equity-related instruments.
Government-controlled oil-marketing companies (OMCs) have held back petrol and diesel price revisions for a week and are expected to continue doing so, ostensibly owing to political reasons. It appears that the Centre has informally conveyed to the three major OMCs to not revise fuel prices for the time being, two people in the government said. This informal directive follows the talks between the Centre and states on cutting taxes and bringing the auto fuels under the good service tax regime not fetching the desired results, so far.
Sources said about hundreds of companies, including Facebook and Amazon, could seek tax refund because they import software for sale in India.
The Centre is likely to privatise profit-making enterprises, reversing its previous position of first closing or merging loss-making state-run units. The NITI Aayog, which is in the process of selecting public sector units for privatisation, is likely to put out its first list, focusing on companies in non-strategic sectors, along with those that have got Cabinet approval for stake sale, or are in final stage of due diligence. "The shortlisted firms will be put out in three-four tranches, with the first list comprising non-strategic ones, followed by strategic sectors with a focus on privatisation and not divestment," said a senior government official privy to the plan. He said the first report was expected in early April. The think tank approach is in sync with the government's new strategies on privatisation and asset monetisation.
The Securities and Exchange Board of India's (Sebi's) technical advisory committee has been mandated to probe the trading halt at National Stock Exchange (NSE) and fix accountability. The committee after a detailed examination would send its findings and recommendations to whole-time member Madbhi Puri Buch, to decide the future course of action, said two people in the know. The panel, which is currently chaired by Ashok Jhunjhunwala of IIT Madras, is learnt to have sought an explanation over two key issues from NSE: One on the effectiveness of interoperability as it was unable to migrate the trading positions; the other on laxity in switching it to the disaster recovery site.
'While intensification of fuel prices and broad-based domestic cost pass-through pressures is a downside risk, core inflation is expected to strengthen further as demand recovers to pre-Covid levels,' the ministry said on Friday.
Despite Nirav Modi win, in the last five years, India managed to bring only about 20 fugitive offenders.
Lawyers say compensation may be an uphill task for investors because of a lack of judicial precedent and broader institutional difficulties.
The ED case follows the police complaint for alleged criminal conspiracy and defrauding investors.
However, that could only be for sectors where 100 per cent FDI is allowed under the automatic route and pose no risk to national security.
The exchange cited issues with its telecom service providers that prevented stocks and index quotations from getting updated.
Government may also consider giving relief to some of the worst-affected sectors.
Companies providing portfolio management services (PMS) had a tough time beating the benchmark index in January, with more than half of the schemes invested in large companies underperforming in the run-up to the Union Budget. The Nifty 50 index was down 2.5 per cent during the month. Only around 44 per cent of PMS schemes did better, among the schemes investing in large-cap companies. The analysis is based on data from industry tracker PMS Bazaar. Half the mid-cap schemes outperformed, while the rest underperformed.
The Union Budget 2021-22 has made it easier for sovereign wealth funds and pension funds to invest in Indian infrastructure projects, but some of the new rules may need more clarity, experts said. The proposed regime requiring investments through holding companies may have adverse tax implications for such funds and may create an arbitrage between the new and old projects, they said. Besides, the ownership structure of holding companies through which investments are to be made requires further clarification, they added.
Sebi's change of rules will give the government -- which owns 100 per cent of LIC -- the flexibility to assess market demand and opt for lower dilution.
Of the cash outgo, Rs 64,598 crore is for enhanced expenditure on fertiliser subsidy under Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan 3.0 and Rs 20,466 crore for the capital outlay in defence services.
FY22 will be the year to rebuild with the IMF projecting output growth at 11.5 per cent, economic survey at 11.0 per cent and the RBI's Monetary Policy Committee at 10.5 per cent.
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