Govt to sell 10% stake in HUDCO via IPO route
The Union Cabinet has approved a 10 per cent stake sale in state-controlled Housing & Urban Development Corporation Ltd (HUDCO) through an initial public offering (IPO). The government wants to raise Rs 56,500 crore from the sale of stakes in state-owned enterprises in the 2016-17 financial year. That is 19 per cent lower than last year’s target, which the government failed to meet.
Union Cabinet cleared the Civil Aviation Policy
In a boost for domestic carriers, the government also amended what is called the 5/20 rule, which allowed only airlines that had operated for five years and had 20 aircraft in their fleets to fly internationally. Under the new rules, airlines must still have 20 planes before they can fly internationally, but no longer need to have operated for five years.
The government said the long-awaited reforms will bring down airfares to 2,500 rupees per hour of flying time on many under-served regional routes, particularly away from big cities.
India’s aviation sector has undergone rapid transformation, but still ranks ninth globally, according to the government, which wants it to become the world’s third largest civil aviation market by 2022.
Cabinet okays merger of associates with SBI
The Cabinet approved the merger of five associate banks with the country’s biggest lender State Bank of India. SBI Chairman Arundhati Bhattacharya said the merger will be a win-win for SBI and the associate banks. Currently, no Indian bank features in the world’s top 50 banks, but following the merger, SBI, with assets worth $550 billion will come within striking distance.
SBI’s five associate banks are: State Bank of Bikaner and Jaipur (SBB&J), State Bank of Hyderabad (SBH), State Bank of Mysore (SBM), State Bank of Patiala and State Bank of Travancore (SBT). SBI already fully owns SBH and State Bank of Patiala, and has majority stakes in the other three. Bharatiya Mahila Bank started operations in 2013 and accounts for less than 0.1 per cent of SBI’s total assets.
