The government shouldn't hide behind the veil of making a domestic giant out of the HPC-ONGC deal, rather it should just say it needs cash from this divestment exercise, says Sudhir Bisht.
Though the NDA government had been trying to privatise 20 companies, a decision for which was taken in 2017, and included national carrier Air India, the investor community evinced little enthusiasm for any of them. Now, with an in-principle approval for privatisation of BPCL, CCI and SCI, the government has taken the plunge again.
The fall in international oil prices had resulted in six consecutive reduction in petrol prices since August and two in diesel in the last one month and there was possibility of another round of cuts this weekend.
The National Democratic Alliance government is weeding out independent directors on the boards of public-sector undertakings (PSUs).
Oil firms' borrowings could fall by up to Rs 15,000 cr, govt's subsidy bill by 12% .
Ajit Mishra, vice president, Research, Religare Broking, answers your queries.
Markets extended losses to end 1.5% down on Tuesday, amid weak global cues, after investors turned cautious ahead of key economic data and booked profits in rate sensitive shares while the further fall in the rupee continued to weigh on investor sent.
The Union government will gain close to Rs 1.6 lakh crore in additional revenues this fiscal from a record hike in excise duty on petrol and diesel that has pushed the total incidence of taxation on auto fuels to 70 per cent of the price. Late on Tuesday evening, the government hiked excise duty on petrol by Rs 10 per litre and that on diesel by Rs 13 a litre to mop up gains arising from international oil prices falling to a two-decade low.
'We began foolishly bragging about Saudi-Emirati investment plans as indicative of the sheikhs 'distancing' from Pakistan, including on Kashmir,' notes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
These stocks offer the best combination of maximum 'buy' recommendations from brokerages and share price upside over the next 12 months.
To prevent rise in air pollution levels, oil marketing companies and thermal power units were planning to procure stubble from farmers to make bioethanol and promote the central government's 'Agricultural Mechanization' for crop residue management. But both have seen minimal success.
The Shiv Sena has spurned Congress' request to participate in the bandh.
The Tata group companies are now more valuable than all the listed central public sector undertakings (CPSUs) or companies in the country. The key 20 listed Tata companies ended the 2021 calendar year with a combined market capitalisation of Rs 23.36 trillion, ahead of the 70 listed CPSUs, which had a combined m-cap of Rs 23.2 trillion. In comparison, these CPSUs had a combined market capitalisation of Rs 16.7 trillion at the end of December 2020 against the Tata group firms' combined m-cap of Rs 15.7 trillion.
Rising oil prices and diminishing cash pile to limit capacity in 2018-19
Sensex hit a record high of 27,225.85 and Nifty hit a record high of 8,141.90 in the intra-day trades today.
Automobile company Tata Motors, metals and mining major Vedanta, oil marketing firm Bharat Petroleum Corporation (BPCL), private sector IndusInd Bank, and two-wheeler major Bajaj Auto have witnessed their market cap slip below the Rs 1-trillion mark this year.
Out of nearly 30 public sector undertakings and assets under 'strategic sale' plan, only the ONGC-HPCL plan has been completed
'BPCL has always been spoken about as a multinational company though it is State-run... this sets our work culture also apart.'
The national budget 2019-20 had an outlay of Rs 10,000 crore for Phase-II of the Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Hybrid and Electric Vehicles scheme to boost electric mobility and increase the number of EVs in commercial fleets.
The uptick in prices ranging from steel to wheat could benefit lots of commodity-based companies -- from State-owned SAIL to the agro exporters.
IDS-2 and raids to uncover black money stash keep receipts flowing
Changing tracks helps. But, not taking the beaten path isn't always helpful. This is the story of two of India's biggest privatisations - Air India and Bharat Petroleum (BPCL). Nearly two decades after the last privatisation, a landmark divestment concluded this year when the loss-making national carrier Air India was sold to the Tatas.
The sharp fall in oil price is positive for oil marketers as subsidy concerns reduce further.
The department of investment and public asset management is scouting for investment bankers and legal advisors to carry forward the transactions.
These have been selected based on the earnings growth prospects and favourable (buy) ratings by brokerages
The progress of the GST Bill in Parliament is also likely to remain in focus
Oil Minister M Veerappa Moily has suggested pricking the ballooning oil bill with everything from a street theatre campaign encouraging lower fuel use, to shutting fuel stations, to increasing imports from Iran.
BSE Midcap index outperformed the benchmark indices to end with 0.4% gains.
Infosys was the top Sensex loser along with other index heavyweights ITC and HDFC.
A chunk of divestment till now has come from follow-on offerings in the Centre's two ETFs, Bharat-22 and CPSE. Now, there will be initial public offerings of Mazagon Docks, rail companies RVNL and IRFC and MSTC.
The staggered increase in kerosene rate may not have the same impact of freeing up the fuel price as for diesel.
The benchmark BSE Sensex ended down 2.23 per cent. The Bank Nifty fell 3.59 per cent.
Modelled loosely around the National Highway System of the US, he in 2001 launched the Golden Quadrilateral and the North-South & East-West Corridor projects to build 4/6 lane highways between four top metropolitan cities of Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata as well as from Srinagar to Kanyakumari and Porbandar to Silchar.
The third-quarter financials didn't excite market watchers. But equity investors can still make money if they invest in the right stocks.
'By holding forth on Swadeshi economics, Bhagwat is showing his intent to fight back,' says Shekhar Gupta.
Pawan Hans, Dredging Corp on list to meet target of Rs 800 bn for 2018-19
Quite a few large- and mid-cap stocks are yet to recover from the note ban, pharma, banking and rural demand-based industries among laggards.
There is the problem of regions in the North East being theatre for power-play by nations with borders and influences converging in those parts, which in turn requires a sizable presence of the armed forces, notes Shyam G Menon.
NDA's energy plan powered UP win, but it's not a winner yet. Centre has claimed to have saved money by targeted coverage but critics say the system is not yet foolproof.
'Oil companies like IOC, BPCL and HPCL have to set up world class systems where they are always two steps ahead of the crooks,' says Sudhir Bisht, a veteran of the petroleum industry.
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