Unlock 6: What Centre's order means for reopening of schools and colleges

 

 

The Union Home Ministry on October 27 extended guidelines for reopening and resumption of social and economic activities in the country to November 30. The existing guidelines for ‘Unlock 5.0’ were issued in September had been originally planned to remain in force till October 31.

Schools across India were closed in March when the nationwide lockdown was imposed to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus.

Over the last few months, a number of activities such as resumption of metro rail services, reopening of shopping malls and restaurants for in-house dining have been allowed in a staggered manner. However, extension of Unlock 5.0 guidelines until November-end means no immediate changes in norms for what is informally being called ‘Unlock 6.0’.

The Centre had permitted state governments and Union Territory (UT) administrations to take decisions for their re-opening of educational institutions outside containment zones, based on the assessment of the situation and subject to standard operating procedures.

SOP for reopening schools

Detailed guidelines to reopen schools were issued by the central government. These include standard operating procedures (SOP) like the duration of the classes, what activities are allowed and how social distancing will be maintained.

According to the guidelines, the schools will have to follow strict sanitisation of school premises before and after classes daily. They will also have to arrange sanitisers and thermal screenings for students and all staff.

Students have the option of not going to school and continue with online classes. However, they need written consent of parents or guardians if they want to attend school in-person.

No change in reopening plans

Schools for some classes have already reopened in Uttar Pradesh, Punjab and Sikkim. Schools in Uttarakhand will reopen on November 2 for classes 10 and 12. Some states like Maharashtra and Gujarat have said they would take a call only after the festive season. Schools in Delhi will remain closed till further orders. Thus, these plans are likely to remain unchanged.

Vedanta delisting falls through, bankers blame BSE glitch

Billionaire Anil Agarwal-backed Vedanta has failed to complete its delisting process, data available on the BSE shows. Promoters of the metal major required 134.1 crore shares to successfully delist from the exchanges. However, their five-day reverse book building (RBB) process, which ended on October 9 evening, saw only 125.47 crore confirmed bids. As per the demand schedule released by the BSE, about 12.32 crore shares tendered are yet to be confirmed.

Data showed public shareholders tendered 137.1 crore of the total 169.73 crore shares held by them but some bids were pending confirmation from bankers and custodians.

According to a report in Moneylife, bankers to Vedanta Resources, DAM Capital and JP Morgan, have requested SEBI for a one-day extension, saying glitches in the BSE tendering webpage upset public participation.

The share tendering process was tepid till October 8 but it gained momentum on the final day and Vedanta looked on course to a successful delisting.

Life insurance Corporation (LIC), which holds a 6.37 percent stake in the company, tendered all its shares at Rs 320 which is a 267 percent premium over the floor price of Rs 87.25. Two other big mutual funds have tendered their shares at Rs 153 and Rs 160 per share.

The de-listing offer of Vedanta Ltd has failed to de-list the shares from the bourses, Vedanta’s UK promoters required 134 crore shares. According to the BSE website, only 125.47 crore shares were tendered until 7.20 pm.UK promoters of Vedanta hold around 50 per cent in the company and had to acquire 40 per cent stake to de-list.

Vedanta will be needing Rs,42,880 crores if RBB lends at Rs. 320 per share. There are two options left either the promoters pay shareholders by October 23 or the Promoters announce counter offer by October 13.

Mazagon Dock may deliver strong listing gains. Check IPO allotment status here

Hinting at a strong debut on Monday, shares of Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders were trading at a premium of about 79 per cent in the unlisted market today.

The basis of allotment is expected to be finalised today while shares would get credited in demat accounts of successful applicants by Friday. Investors who could not get shares in the allotment process will get refunds on Thursday.

While UTI Asset Management Company (AMC) has been quoting at a discount in the unlisted market following its not-so-impressive subscription levels, Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders, due its small size of Rs 444 crore and a whopping 157.41 times subscription levels, is holding on to strong premium in the grey market.

Abhay Doshi, an independent dealer in unlisted shares, said improvement in the secondary market sentiment on a rally that entered the fifth day on Wednesday has lifted grey market premium for Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders to around Rs 115 level. It had fallen to Rs 95 earlier. UTI AMC, the other IPO, whose basis of allotment and listing date will be the same as Mazagon, is quoting at a discount of Rs 15-20, after widening as much as Rs 30 per share.

"For Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders, everyone is waiting for the allotment status. We see further upside in premiums, albeit a limited one, if the market sentiment stays strong," Doshi said.

Sagar Shah of Ascent Wealth Advisors pegs Mazagon's grey market premium at Rs 109. At these premium levels, the stock is expected to list at a premium of up to 79.31 per cent.

The IPO by the 'Miniratna' ran from September 29 and October 1 and was sold in the Rs 135-145 price band. Its response at 157.41 times was the highest-ever response to a PSU issue.

High net worth individuals (HNIs) flocked to the issue, and the portion reserved for them was subscribed nearly 679 times, while that reserved for retail investors was filled in nearly 35.63 times. The portion reserved for qualified institutional buyers (QIBs) was subscribed 89.71 times, while employee quota received 3.88 times bids.

Those who bid for the issue can check the allotment status via the stock exchange. On BSE, one can CLICK HERE
Besides, investors can also check the status on the online portal of Alankit Assignments, the registrar to the IPO. The registrar to an issue is a Sebi-registered entity, qualified to act as such, and which electronically processes all applications and carries out the allotment process as per the prospectus.

On Alankit Assignments' web portal, one needs to select the IPO whose data will be populated only when the basis of allotment is declared. One also needs PAN or application ID or client ID and DPID (depository participant identification) to check the allotment status.

The registrar is responsible for complying with the time deadlines for updating the electronic credit of shares to successful applicants, dispatch and uploading of refunds and attending to all investor-related queries after the issue is completed.