Nirmala Sitharaman press conference highlights: PSUs cannot bid for BPCL hints Dharmendra Pradhan

Oil Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on November 21 hinted that public sector firms such as Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) may not be allowed to bid for buying government stake in BPCL, for which a buyer may have to shell out as much as Rs 90,000 crore.
"Nitty-gritty and details of the disinvestment process will have to be worked out but when I say the government has no business to be in business, it is indicative of possible future course of action," he said.
IOC, other PSUs not to bid for BPCL, hints Dharmendra Pradhan

The Cabinet on November 20 cleared a proposal for adoption of Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH) programme by the Indian Patent Office (IPO) with patent offices of various other countries or regions. The said programme will initially commence between Japan Patent Office (JPO) and Indian Patent Office, under the Controller General of Patents, Designs and Trade Marks (CGPDTM), on pilot basis for a period of three years only, an official statement said.

The Centre approved on November 20 the Industrial Relation Code Bill, which is the third code under labour reforms.
The government wants to codify 44 central labour laws into four broad codes. While the Code on Wages has already been approved by Parliament, the Labour ministry will push the Code on Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Bill in the Budget session. The Code on Social Security is in pre-legislative stage.

The Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has given its approval for introduction of the Industrial Relations Code, 2019, in Parliament, an official statement said.

The Cabinet on November 20 gave its approval to the Food Ministry's recent decision to import 1.2 lakh tonnes of onions in a bid to improve the domestic availability of the key kitchen staple and check prices. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman informed about the decision at a media briefing after the Cabinet meeting.
The move comes after the government's various efforts to boost the domestic availability failed to cool down the retail prices significantly. Cabinet approves import of 1.2 lakh tonnes onion

On the decision to set up a unified regulatory body to supervise the activities of financial services providers in the International Financial Services Centre (IFSC), Ficci said this will add to the ease of doing business for firms that set up a base in IFSC.
Ficci President Sandip Somany added that the industry body welcomes this single window facilitation.

Another notable decision of the government is the relief provided to the telecom sector by way of deferment of receipt of spectrum auction installments due from telecom service providers for the year 2020-21 and 2021-22, industry body Ficci said.
"This move should provide some headroom to the telecom sector in the country as it is seeing a lot of stress. We must ensure the viability of the sector and Ficci hopes that this is the first step in that direction with more support in the offing from the government," according to Ficci President Sandip Somany.

Decision to give greater operational authority to the board of National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) and enabling it to securitise user fee receipts for raising long-term funds from banks is another major positive, Ficci President Sandip Somany said.
"The roads and highways sector will get a further fillip through this move; and given its multiplier impact, we hope to see other related sectors also witnessing improvement in their performance," Somany added.

Industry body FICCI on November 21 hailed the Centre's go-ahead to the sale of its stake BPCL, SCI and Concor stating that the move would strengthen the performance of these companies and bring in fresh investments for both modernisation and expansion.
"It is encouraging to see the government take further steps to push the reforms agenda as well as address some of the critical pain points of industry. The decision to undertake strategic disinvestment and transfer management control in entities like Shipping Corporation of India (SCI), Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL) and Container Corporation of India (Concor) are welcome," Ficci President Sandip Somany said in a statement.
Stake sale in BPCL, SCI, Concor to strengthen firms, bring in fresh investments: FICCI

The Union Cabinet approved a bill on November 20 to provide a legal framework to grant ownership rights to people living in unauthorised colonies in Delhi, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said. The proposal is applicable to 1,797 identified unauthorised colonies spread over 175 square-km of the national capital inhabited by people from lower income groups.
Cabinet okays bill to grant ownership rights to residents of Delhi's unauthorised colonies

The government on November 20 approved amendments proposed to the Toll Operate Transfer (TOT) model for national highways. The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) has given its approval to the amendments proposed in the TOT model by the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said.
CCEA approves amendments to 'Toll Operate Transfer' model for national highways

The Cabinet on Wednesday approved a strategic divestment of the government's 53.29 per cent stake in BPCL, along with transfer of certain management control. This is excluding BPCL's equity shareholding of 61 per cent stake in Numaligarh Refinery.

Criticising the government over its decision on disinvestment of BPCL and other companies, the Congress on Thursday accused it of "selling the country".

Here are key takeways from FM Nirmala Sitharaman's press conference

The Cabinet has given the in-principle approval for disinvestment in select CPSEs, and a two-year moratorium on spectrum payment for telecom companies, among other measures.... Read More

Disinvestment Secretary Neeraj Kumar Gupta told CNBC-TV18 that there will be two strategic divestments in the case of BPCL, and that strategic buyers for a stake in BPCL will be decided later.