On 25-02-2015, the Central Government made the Securities Contracts (Regulation) (Amendment) Rules, 2015. The objective of the Rule is to further amend the provisions of the Securities Contracts (Regulation) Rules, 1957. The amended Rules provides as follows:
- a new definition of “public shareholding” – which means equity shares of the company held by public including shares underlying the depository receipts if the holder of such depository receipts has the right to issue voting instruction and such depository receipts are listed on an international exchange in accordance with the Depository Receipts Scheme, 2014:
Provided that the equity shares of the company held by the trust set up for implementing employee benefit schemes under the regulations framed by the Securities and Exchange Board of India shall be excluded from public shareholding.
- Inserts Rule 19A (4) after Rule 19 A (3) of the Rules 1957, namely-
“(4) Where the public shareholding in a listed company falls below twenty-five per cent in consequence to the Securities Contracts (Regulation) (Amendment) Rules, 2015, such company shall increase its public shareholding to at least twenty-five per cent in the manner specified by the Securities and Exchange Board of India within a period of three years, as the case may be, from the date of notification of:
(a) the Depository Receipts Scheme, 2014 in cases where the public shareholding falls below twenty five per cent as a result of such scheme;
(b) the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Share Based Employee Benefits) Regulations, 2014 in cases where the public shareholding falls below twenty-five percent., as a result of such regulations.”
-Ministry of Finance