Centre launches Bharat-22 fund to sell off its stocks in public sector firms, says Arun Jaitley
The finance minister said sale of stocks of public sector banks is consistent with the government’s policy of consolidating the banking sector.
The Centre on Friday launched a fund, Bharat-22, to sell 22 of its stocks in public sector enterprises, public sector banks and in the Specified Undertaking of Unit Trust of India, reported the Hindustan Times. The government’s Exchange-Traded Fund will cover several companies from six different sectors, said Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley at a media briefing in New Delhi.
The stocks to be sold through the ETF include those of Oil and Natural Gas Corp Ltd, Indian Oil Corp Ltd, Bharat Petroleum Corp Ltd, Coal India Ltd, State Bank of India, Larsen & Toubro Ltd and NTPC Ltd among others. ICICI Prudential will manage the ETF, PTI reported.
There will be a cap of 15% on the amount invested by the buyer in a single company, and a cap of 22% on investment in each sector, Jaitley said. The finance minister said the sale of stocks of public sector banks is consistent with the government’s policy of consolidating the banking sector. “The present law permits us to reduce government equity in Public Sector Banks to 52%,” he said.