The attorney-general is understood to have said that the government need not go to Parliament prior to privatisation of the oil PSUs.
Attorney General Soli Sorabjee is likely to give by Friday his opinion on legal aspects of divestment of oil PSUs HPCL and BPCL, which were nationalised through Acts of Parliament.
In an apparent bid to resolve the row over divestment in public sector units including the one involving HPCL and BPCL, Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee held an informal meeting of senior Cabinet ministers.\n\n
The four public sector general insurance companies -- New India Assurance, United India Insurance, Oriental Insurance, and National Insurance Company -- have lost 800 basis points (bps) in market share in last five years to their private counterparts, the data from the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (Irdai) revealed. In 2018-19, the four had a cumulative market share of 40.04 per cent, with New India Assurance having a market share of 14 per cent and United India Insurance with a market share of 9.63 per cent. But, gradually in the past five years, these state-backed firms have lost their market share to private sector players, due to the declining health of their business.
'Somebody was using somebody to make statements that will stir the stock market and lead to a surge.' 'A sudden surge and a sudden crash is always an ideal situation for people to make illicit gains and then siphoning off the money.'
The government can also individually exempt the PSBs, that are to be privatisated from the two Bank Nationalisation Acts. This will bring such lenders under Banking Regulation Act, and make them companies, reports Nikunj Ohri.
The headline for corporate profit growth has been very encouraging in the July-September quarter (Q2) of 2023-24 (FY24), with the combined net profit of listed companies up by 38 per cent year-on-year. However, the earnings distribution has been very lopsided, with most of the growth coming from public-sector oil-marketing companies (OMCs), banks, non-bank lenders, automobile (auto) companies, and cement producers. By comparison, companies from information technology services, fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG), retail, and consumer durables were disappointed, experiencing a sharp slowdown in net sales growth and a relatively muted increase in reported net profit.
Pawan Hans, Dredging Corp on list to meet target of Rs 800 bn for 2018-19
They were among nine corporates that reported over a Rs 1,000 crore gain in market capitalisation in a month
Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee on Wednesday told the Lok Sabha that his government has fulfilled its commitment on the job generation front partially by creating as many as 70 lakh (7 million) jobs.
Government has targeted to garner about Rs 56,500 crore through selling its stake in PSUs.
Jaitley also asked banks to take steps to ensure smooth credit flow to projects.
Mahanagar Telecom Nigam Ltd is extending its lifetime validity cards to post-paid mobile segment, under which users have to pay Rs 800 as one-time charge for rent-free connection lifelong and 80 paise a minute for local calls.
A day ahead of a crucial meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Divestment, Defence Minister George Fernandes said he favoured public sector units like Oil and Natural Gas Corporation to be allowed to bid for HPCL.
Differences between ministries of divestment and petroleum are likely to surface at Fridays meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Divestment as the former is believed to have proposed keeping public sector units.
Centre's disinvestment policy Saturday came in for sharp criticism from some States with BJP ally Biju Janata Dal in Orissa going so far as to seek a separate National Democratic Alliance meeting on it.
Taking a tough stance against instances of non-compliance of rules by public sector units, in matters like appointments, Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee has asked his Cabinet colleagues to strictly follow guidelines and rules.
State-run Oil and Natural Gas Corporation approached the petroleum ministry on Thursday with an initial proposal for permission to bid for Hindustan Petroleum Corporation as and when the government decides to offer its stake in the PSU.
The petroleum ministry is likely to advocate allowing its public sector units like ONGC to bid for acquiring management control in oil refiner HPCL, which the government on Monday said would be put on the block.\n\n
The government is believed to have decided to put on hold divestment of aluminium firm Nalco in view of opposition from both within the Centre and Orissa leadership, besides its employees.
The government is considering buying back shares of Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd from the market as one of the options to pave the way for its merger with Bharat Sanchar Nigam, which is not listed on the bourses.
Singapore government's sovereign wealth fund Temasek is looking to invest $10 billion in India during the next three years, Ravi Lambah, Temasek's head of India and strategic initiatives, said.
Chemicals and Fertiliser Minister Ram Vilas Paswan on Saturday ruled out divestment of loss-making Hindustan Antibiotics Ltd saying the government would revive the ailing public sector unit.
In the global context India is looking 'very special'.
There are four public sector general insurance companies.
Reserve Bank Governor Shaktikanta Das will hold a meeting with CEOs of public sector banks on Wednesday to discuss issues concerning slow deposit growth and sustainability of high credit demand. As per the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) data, deposits rose by 9.6 per cent as compared to 10.2 per cent on a year-on-year basis, while credit offtake witnessed a jump of 17.9 per cent as against 6.5 per cent a year ago. According to an agenda circulated for the meeting, sources said, sustainability, including pricing and slow growth of deposits, would be discussed.
The BJP had not filed till May the expenses statement for the Karnataka Assembly elections held last year in July.
