Launching of a social stock exchange, organising a global investor meet and merging of NRI investment with that of the foreign portfolio investor (FPI) segment are some of the market-friendly measures that the Budget has proposed.
While a detailed analysis or blueprint is not available with regard to social stock exchange, the Budget announcement was for creation of a platform to list social enterprises and voluntary organisations working towards social welfare. Listing of such organisations will enable them to raise debt or equity funds, the Budget announcement said.
For the first time, the Centre has proposed to organise an annual global investors meet in India. The Budget announcement said it will be done by the National Infrastructure Investment Fund (NIIF) as the anchor, to get together all the three sets of global players — top industrialists/corporate honchos, top pension/ insurance/ sovereign wealth funds and top digital technology/ venture funds. The Vibrant Gujarat Summit under Narendra Modi as Chief Minister of the State was the first to organise such an annual meet and the Budget just seems to have borrowed a leaf from it.
The Budget has also proposed to increase the statutory limit for FPIs in companies from 24 per cent to the specific sector-based foreign investment limit which could be as high as 75 per cent. FPIs will be permitted to subscribe to listed debt securities issued by ReITs and InvITs. Also, another proposal is to merge NRI portfolio investment schemes with the FPI route, which would allow NRIs better flexibility in investing.