How four PSUs are paying dividends in record time

Primer on Sebi LODR regulation 29 and 42

Four public sector undertakings — Indian Oil Corporation, Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL), Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd (HPCL) and Coal India — are paying an out-of-turn second interim dividend to help the government shore up its revenues. Most of these companies paid interim dividends less than a month ago. To ensure that the latest dividend payout takes place before the end of the fiscal year, the state-owned entities had to obtain the market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India’s (Sebi’s) leeway on certain regulations. 

Which are the regulations on which exemption was sought? 

The state-owned entities got exemption from the applicability