Cabinet to decide on FCRA Bill, SAIL disinvestment

Some big ticket decisions expected at the Cabinet meeting scheduled for Thursday. The much awaited Forward Contract Regulation Act (Amendment) Bill is expected to be taken up by the Cabinet..The meeting is expected to approve the changes suggested by the Parliamentary Standing Committee to the Bill that has been hanging fire for a very long time and amend the Bill..The Parliamentary Committee wants greater autonomy for commodities market regulator Forward Market Commission (FMC) that also regulates the three spot online commodity exchanges, namely, Financial Technologies-promoted National Spot Exchange Ltd (NSEL), the National Commodity & Derivatives Exchange-promoted NSpot and Ahmedabad-based National Multi Commodity Exchange (NMCE)..The Committee's suggestions include freer entry for financial institutions and banks, mutual funds, and insurance companies be permitted to participate in forward market. This is expected to ensure better price discovery and low volatility..Options trading should be allowed for the benefit of farmers and new product launches like options and derivatives should be allowed under the law. Under the existing FCRA, hedging products such as options, indices are not permissible..The Food and Consumer Affairs ministry hopes to introduce the FCRA Bill in the Monsoon session of Parliament..The Cabinet Committee on Infrastructure is expected to take up the proposal to work out an institutional mechanism to monitor PPP projects. The idea is to make concessionaires accountable and responsible for delay or faults in projects or if they are unable to comply with the standards set in the agreement..It is in the backdrop of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his office pushing for fast tracking infrastructure projects and address all issues slowing progress in infra projects that the Cabinet will take up the monitoring issue..The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs is likely to take up the Department of Disinvestment's proposal to sell 10.82 per cent government stake in Steel Authority of India (SAIL) through auction route. Government holds 85.82 per cent in the country's largest steel producing company. Government hopes to mop up about Rs 4,000 crore from the stake sale..The proposal to divest SAIL will be the first disinvestment proposal in this fiscal and it comes after the lukewarm response to ONGC sell off last fiscal..But the time for disinvestment will be decided depending on market conditions, official sources said..The CCEA in April, 2010 had approved 10 per cent disinvestment of government's share in SAIL along with issue of 10 per cent fresh equity by the company in two equal tranches. But due to some issues with merchant bankers and volatility in the market conditions the government deferred the SAIL offer.

Cabinet to decide on FCRA Bill, SAIL disinvestment

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