Reforming Public Shareholding Rules

The Government of India has amended the Securities Contracts (Regulation) Rules to modify the minimum public shareholding requirements for companies listing on stock exchanges.

Earlier, companies typically needed to offer at least 25% of their shares to the public. 

The amendment now allows large companies with very high capitalisation to list with lower initial public shareholding, subject to a requirement to increase it to 25% within specified timeframes. 

This step is intended to make Indian capital markets more attractive for large domestic and global listings while still protecting market liquidity.