Respect regulations

Govt's U-turn on minimum public float of PSUs is surprising

The benchmark stock market indices hit all-time highs this week and the sustained buoyancy is also encouraging many companies to go public. However, the state of the stock market has had no material impact on the government’s disinvestment programme so far. According to the latest data, the government has only managed to raise Rs 7,648.15 crore so far in the current fiscal year against the full-year target of Rs 1.75 trillion. It is, thus, surprising that the government recently blocked an important option of selling its stake in public sector undertakings (PSUs).

The government has empowered itself through a notification to