The Finance Ministry has invited private sector bankers.
The New Year 2015, however, may see shares worth over Rs 50,000 crore (Rs 500 billion) being put on the table by the government, including by way of part-sale of its holdings in PSUs and its residual minority stakes in some private sector entities.
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 S&P BSE Sensex has gained 149 points to open at 25,802.
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, in the Budget for 2015-16, is likely to target around Rs 43,000 crore (Rs 430 billion) from divestment proceeds, almost the same level that the government expects to realise from stake sale in PSUs this fiscal.
Financial shares were the top losers.
A joint forum of central trade unions has given a call for a nationwide strike on March 28 and 29, to protest against government policies affecting workers, farmers, and people. The Joint Platform of central trade unions held a meeting in Delhi on March 22, 2022, to take stock of the preparations in various states and sectors for the proposed two-day all India strike on 28-29 March 2022 against "the anti-worker, anti-farmer, anti-people and anti-national policies" of the central government, a statement said. The statement said that roadways, transport workers and electricity workers have decided to join the strike in spite of the impending threat of ESMA (Haryana and Chandigarh, respectively). Financial sectors, including banking and insurance, are joining the strike, it stated.
The government on Monday budgeted Rs 1.75 lakh crore from stake sale in public sector companies and financial institutions, including 2 PSU banks and one general insurance company, in the next fiscal year beginning April 1. The amount is lower than the record Rs 2.10 lakh crore which was budgeted to be raised from CPSE disinvestment in the current fiscal year. However, the COVID-19 pandemic impacted the government's CPSE stake sale programme, and the target has been lowered to Rs 32,000 crore in the Revised Estimates.
The indices closed with losses for the week, with the Sensex declining 476.14 points, and the broader NSE Nifty falling 155.45 points during the period.
Even as Union ministers allay misgivings over Agnipath, figures show a meagre 2.4 per cent of the ex-servicemen who applied for a government job could get one as the Centre and the states have been unable to recruit against the reserved quotas. Public sector undertakings (PSUs), ministries, and officials of Sainik Boards have blamed it on the lack of skill among ex-servicemen. They say veterans' inability to qualify in selection exams is one of reasons for this. Also, non-recognition of qualifications obtained from the military are reasons why their recruitment has remained significantly low, pushing them towards low-skill jobs.
Ajit Mishra, vice president, Research, Religare Broking, answers queries on how to invest in stocks.
Among Sensex components, shares of Reliance Industries, India's largest company by market value, stole the show by surging 1.61 per cent to their highest in over three months.
On a net basis, foreign portfolio investors bought Rs 446 crore worth of domestic stocks on Thursday and domestic institutional investors (DIIs) were net buyers to the tune of Rs 49.68 crore, provisional data available with BSE suggested.
In the first nine months of 2017, investment banks pocketed Rs 500 crore for helping companies raise Rs 30,853 crore through IPOs.
China is slowing down, Europe is barely afloat and the US is meeting a larger chunk of its own demand.
There are 30 listed PSUs in which the public holding is less than 25%.
The NSE Nifty settled the day 93.20 points or 0.88 per cent lower at 10,452.30 after shuttling between 10,612.90 and 10,434.05.
Coal India topped the losers' list in the Sensex pack on Tuesday, falling 2.36 per cent, followed by Bharti Airtel at 2.16 per cent.
The NSE 50-share Nifty also closed higher by 61.60 points, or 0.59 per cent, at 10,504.80 after shuttling between 10,513 and 10,441.45.
Other than ITC, other laggards include PowerGrid, Infosys, M&M, NTPC, SBI, HDFC, Kotak Bank, HDFC Bank, TCS, Hero MotoCorp, Coal India, ONGC, RIL, Asian Paint, IndusInd Bank, ICICI Bank, Maruti Suzuki, Bajaj Auto, Tata Motors, Bharti Airtel and Axis Bank.
The Finance Ministry is considering a proposal to rope in professionals from the private sector for appointment of chairman and CEO-cum-managing director in state-owned financial institutions as it looks for talent from a wider pool of applicants.
Metal stocks also had a good session, with JSW Steel zooming by 7%, and Tata Steel and Nalco gaining about 3% each.
Major gainers in the Sensex pack were Wipro, Kotak Bank, Infosys, Maruti, Tata Motors, L&T, IndusInd Bank, Hero MotoCorp, M&M, SBI, ONGC, HDFC Bank and HUL, rising up to 3 per cent.
In the Sensex pack, ICICI Bank emerged as the top gainer by rising 0.97 per cent, while Tata Steel advanced 0.92 per cent.
Sun Pharma was the biggest loser among Sensex components, plunging 3.94 per cent, followed by Tata Steel falling 3.12 per cent.
Investors booked profits in range-bound trade, led by PSU, oil & gas, energy, infrastructure, telecom, realty, healthcare, bankex, FMCG, capital goods and power counters.
The BSE Sensex gained 104.63 points to end at 33,147.13, while the broader Nifty spurted 48.45 points to finish at 10,343.80.
The ongoing corporate results and the Union budget are also making participants tread cautiously though the GST agreement provided some relief.
Equity benchmarks erased early gains after realty, capital goods, teck, auto, PSU, IT, power and bankex counters came under selling pressure, falling up to 1.28 per cent.
The 50-share NSE Nifty ended up 37.05 points, or 0.36 per cent, at 10,397.45 points
The BSE benchmark Sensex surged about 241 points to end at 35,165.48 and the NSE Nifty gained 84 points to close at 10,688.65.
Hopes that better-than-forecasted monsoon may help the RBI cut rates sooner than expected, too triggered buying activity.
The first was wholesale funded banks and non-bank finance companies.
The broader NSE Nifty dipped below the 10,200-mark to hit a low of 10,180.25 before ending at 10,195.15, down by 165 points, or 1.59 per cent.
The broader NSE Nifty ended at 10,888, a gain of 0.77 per cent or 83 points, after shuttling between 10,900.35 and 10,844.85.
Oil & gas, banking and pharma sector stocks stole the show
For the second straight week, the Sensex rose, notching up a significant gain of 528.34 points, or 1.59 per cent. The Nifty was up 129.45 points, or 1.25 per cent, during the week.
The NSE Nifty after shuttling between 10,397.60 and 10,279.35 points, ended 47 points, or 0.45 per cent lower at 10,301.05.
Floor price of SAIL to be set at Rs 83 a share.
Investors watch out for cues from the on-going winter session of the Parliament.
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