Investment for pension funds, pandemic benefiting bigger companies, and e-way bill generation: Three Things to know for Teji Mandi investors on July 21, 2021

New Investment Option for Pension Funds

Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) is likely to grant permission to pension fund managers (PFMs) to invest in initial public offerings (IPOs). This will clear the deck for PFMs to invest in upcoming IPOs in the market. This move will provide pension funds with a wider range of investment options.

It will also help them to increase their returns when interest rates on fixed-income instruments fall constantly.

Big Getting Bigger

The latest RBI report suggests that big companies have managed to gain market share from their smaller counterparts during the pandemic.

Market share of those companies with annualised sales of Rs 1,000 crore and above went up to 91% in Jan-Mar 2021. It was at 89.4% in the year-ago quarter. Their sales growth has been 23.5% YoY.

This data suggests that while pandemic has affected the livelihoods of many, it has provided an opportunity for big ones to get even bigger. As SMEs and MSMEs continue to suffer, market consolidation has happened in a big way in favour of the organised players.

Increasing E-Way Bills Generation

E-way bill generation has seen a sharp increase in July compared to previous months. As of July 18, more than the 3.55 crore e-way bills were issued, which is better than 3.37 crore bills generated during the same period last month. The daily average of e-way bills has also inched up to 19.7 lakh from 16.7 lakh in the previous month.

E-way bills are generated to transport goods of more than Rs 50,000 crore. A higher number of e-way bills directly points at increased transport activities and hence a recovery in the overall economy.