Making Way for Privatisation
The cabinet has extended the foreign direct investment limit up to 100% in state-run oil companies, which are up for privatisation. As per previous policy, India allowed 49% foreign direct investment in state-run oil and gas companies.
The decision is likely to ease the privatisation process of Bharat Petroleum (BPCL). The government has marked out a 53% stake in BPCL for sale. BPCL's privatisation is crucial to achieving the ambitious divestment target of Rs 1.75 lakh crore set by the government.
Zomato Set for Listing
Pioneer of the food aggregation business in India - Zomato is set to make its debut on bourses today, i.e. July 23, 2021. The issue has received an elicit response from institutional as well as retail investors. The issue was oversubscribed 38 times over the allotted shares.
A majority of the analysts are expecting strong listing gains, taking a cue from its rising grey market premium in the last few days. However, the market is showing signs of tiredness at current levels. Hence, one cannot be certain about strong gains on listing. Apart from that, steep valuations could play a spoilsport for Zomato on its listing day.
A New PLI Scheme
The Union Cabinet has announced a new performance-linked incentive (PLI) scheme for the specialty steel manufacturing sector. The incentives worth Rs 6,322 crore will be provided over five years under the scheme. And, it is expected to bring in investment of approximately Rs 40,000 crore and capacity addition of 25 MT.
The objective of the scheme is to increase the production of value-added steel grades in India. Currently, they are largely imported as the country continues to operate at the lower end of the value chain in the steel sector.
