The government recently empowered itself through a notification to exempt any public sector listed company from complying with Sebi’s minimum public shareholding norm. Not only is this a U-turn on the government’s stated position but it undermines the position of the stock market regulator and reflects poorly on governance in public sector units, says the top edit here. It will also, it adds, impact PSU valuations and, ultimately, the disinvestment programme.
In other views today:
Shyam Ponappa says the arbitration awards against India’s retroactive tax claims now pose a serious threat, and calls for an objective,