PSU dividends to Centre almost double since 2020; over 40% comes from five fuel PSUs
The analysis of company-wise dividend data from the Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM) for the last five years shows that five fuel-related PSUs accounted for 42% of the total dividends the government has collected since the financial year 2020-21. The analysis excluded dividends from the Reserve Bank of India and the nationalised banks.
These companies — Coal India Ltd, Oil & Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC), Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), Bharat Petroleum Corporation (BPCL), and Gail (India) — contributed ₹1.27 lakh crore, or 42.3% of the total ₹3 lakh crore dividends the Centre received from non-banking PSUs between 2020-21 and 2024-25.
Minimal cut in petrol prices
The data also shows that the two directly-owned public sector oil marketing companies (OMCs) — IOC and BPCL — together saw a 255% increase in their dividend payouts to the government since 2022-23 and a 65% decrease in oil prices. However, they only passed on a 2% decrease in petrol prices to the public.
The third public sector OMC, Hindustan Petroleum, is owned by ONGC, and not directly by the government.
The total dividends from non-banking PSUs have also grown consistently since the COVID-19 pandemic. The government collected ₹39,558 crore as dividends from these companies in 2020-21, which almost doubled to ₹74,017 crore by 2024-25.
High dividends offset slow disinvestment
According to sources in the government, this is due to a 'calibrated' approach to balance revenues from disinvestments and dividends.
'The government's disinvestment policy announced during the pandemic is still very much in place, but it is not progressing as fast as it was initially hoped,' the official told The Hindu. 'At the same time, many PSUs are turning profitable and so the government is maximising the dividends it can earn from them.'
The disinvestment policy, officially called the Public Sector Enterprises Policy, stated that the government would maintain a minimum presence in strategic sectors and would exit from all non-strategic ones. It was first announced as a part of the government's COVID-19 Atma Nirbhar Bharat package in May 2020.
However, since then, enhancing dividends has also become a part of official policy.
Mandatory minimum dividends
An office memorandum sent out by DIPAM in November 2024 to all departments of the government and the managing directors of all PSUs laid out new rules for how much dividends these companies must pay their shareholders, the largest of which is the government of India.
According to the new rules, every Central PSU must pay a minimum annual dividend of 30% of its Profit After Tax (PAT) or 4% of its net worth, whichever is higher. In fact, the government has pushed these PSUs to pay dividends much higher than this mandatory amount.
'The minimum dividend as indicated in para 5.1 above is only a minimum benchmark,' the office memorandum said. 'The CPSEs are advised to strive paying higher dividend taking into account relevant factors such as profitability, capex requirements with due leveraging, cash reserves and net worth.'
High payouts
IOC and BPCL saw their combined dividend payouts to the government increase 255% between 2022-23 and 2024-25, from ₹2,435 crore to ₹8,653 crore. Dividends of OMCs are paid from their profits, which themselves rise if the selling price of their fuel is higher than the cost of their inputs.
While the price of crude oil has fallen 65% — from $116 a barrel in June 2022 to $70 a barrel in July 2025 — the retail price of petrol has only been reduced by ₹1.95 per litre, or 2%, over this period.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Time of India
an hour ago
- Time of India
On-demand driver service platform DriveU logs 22% rise in FY25 revenue; net profit zooms to Rs 1.7 crore
Academy Empower your mind, elevate your skills Bengaluru-based on-demand driver service platform DriveU reported a 22% increase in revenue to Rs 111.8 crore in the financial year 2025, up 22% from Rs 91.6 crore a year back, led by an increase in bookings of company's profit after tax (PAT) rose to Rs 1.73 crore in FY25, compared to Rs 11 lakh in FY24, said the company in a release.'We are coming back quicker after Covid-19, with our team delivering one of the strongest performances. We will be increasing our presence in cities such as Chennai, Hyderabad, and Delhi in the coming years,' said Rahm Shastry, chief executive officer of revenues jumped significantly, the company managed to check its overall expenses to Rs 27.8 crore, up 13.5% from Rs 24.5 crore a year back. Its marketing expenses almost doubled on-year to Rs 4.56 crore in FY25. Employee benefit expenses rose to Rs 12.26 crore in FY25 from Rs 10.63 crore in FY24.'In one of our major markets, Bengaluru, we are able to get only 7% of car owners to use our service. We will largely focus on improving our presence by promoting drivers on demand in the next few years,' said company reported Rs 1.74 crore of earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation (Ebitda), up from Rs 1.08 crore in the previous in 2015, DriveU has raised around $8.8 million in equity money from a bunch of angel investors and Washington-based Capria Ventures.
&w=3840&q=100)
Business Standard
4 hours ago
- Business Standard
Beyond clicks and scrolls: Digital financial education for Viksit Bharat
In this age of digital transformation, the proliferation of apps, online courses, and gamified learning tools has brought financial education to our fingertips. But the question remains: are we truly learning, or merely consuming content in a digital haze? Traditionally, financial education in India was sporadic and limited—confined to formal schooling or isolated workshops. However, the economic shocks of the global financial crisis and, more recently, the Covid-19 pandemic revealed a glaring need: widespread, scalable financial literacy for every Indian, regardless of age or income. This urgency accelerated the move toward digital financial education. Digital tools now play a crucial role in disseminating financial knowledge. Online courses, mobile applications, and gamified learning experiences provide users with flexible, self-paced education. Platforms such as Coursera and edX offer courses from top universities, while mobile apps like Mint and YNAB (You Need a Budget) help individuals manage their personal finances interactively. These resources have broadened access to financial education, reaching audiences that traditional methods often failed to engage. Indian institutions followed suit—Sebi launched its investor education app Saa₹thi, while the RBI's Financial Literacy Week focused on themes like digital banking and cyber safety. Digital tools undeniably have improved outreach. They break socio-economic and geographical barriers, enabling underserved communities to access financial knowledge. The variety of formats—videos, podcasts, quizzes, simulations—caters to different learning styles. Many mobile apps now integrate behavioural nudges and progress tracking to keep users engaged. This represents a significant shift from the one-size-fits-all model of traditional financial education to a more focused, target-oriented learning style. Yet this democratization of financial information comes with caveats. The sheer volume of online information risks overwhelming users. People often skim through content without internalizing or applying it. The spread of misinformation—especially through social media influencers, biased advisers, or non-verified blogs—compounds the problem. Add to this the digital divide: rural populations, elderly citizens, and economically disadvantaged groups either lack reliable internet access or digital confidence. The financial education materials available online require re-orientation with an emphasis on the targeted groups' needs. Generic modules often fail to consider individual financial circumstances—something only personalized guidance or human intervention can address. As behavioural economists point out, cognitive biases like procrastination, overconfidence, and loss aversion can limit the impact of even the best online tools if not designed with user behaviour in mind. Importantly, digital literacy without adequate awareness of fraud prevention and grievance redress mechanisms can lead to devastating outcomes. While India has witnessed an exponential rise in UPI and digital payment adoption—with around 172 billion transactions in 2024, marking a 46% increase from 117.64 billion in 2023—this surge has also been accompanied by an alarming rise in scams, phishing attacks, and payment frauds. Victims often lack knowledge about where and how to report such incidents or even recognize that they've been defrauded. Without a robust understanding of safe digital practices and redress pathways—like the RBI's Digital Ombudsman or the Cyber Crime Portal—users remain largely vulnerable and under-confident, especially in semi-urban and rural areas where digital trust is still forming. Despite several initiatives already in place, India still struggles with translating the availability of digital financial literacy into active public engagement. Regulators and academic institutions like SEBI, NCFE, and NISM have developed accessible e-learning platforms and certification programs—such as the Saa₹thi app, NCFE's targeted modules, and NISM's Investor Awareness Web Modules. These offer structured, credible, and even gamified financial education, covering topics like mutual funds, stock markets, savings, and fraud prevention. Yet, awareness of these resources remains alarmingly low. Even among digitally literate individuals, the uptake is limited—either due to lack of trust, interest, or simply the overwhelming nature of financial jargon. For large sections of the population, especially in semi-urban and rural areas, these platforms remain out of reach due to digital exclusion, language barriers, or lack of localized relevance. The gap between resource availability and user participation reveals that creating content is not enough; we must also create demand, trust, and usability, apart from access. Several countries offer strong examples of how digital financial literacy can be structured, integrated, and sustained. In the United Kingdom, the government-backed Money and Pensions Service (MaPS), along with its MoneyHelper platform, provides a centralized digital hub offering free and impartial financial guidance. It brings together budgeting tools, scam awareness content, and debt advice in one place, while also collaborating with schools to incorporate financial capability into curriculum-based learning. The result is a comprehensive, life-stage approach to financial literacy, supported by both digital access and offline reinforcement. Similarly, Australia has developed an inclusive model through the Moneysmart platform, operated by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC). This portal offers financial education tailored to specific age groups and life stages—from schoolchildren to retirees. Its resources include interactive calculators, goal-based planners, and fraud alert systems—all designed in simple, accessible language. The emphasis is on clarity, safety, and user engagement, with financial decision-making contextualized through real-life scenarios. India can draw valuable lessons from these global models. A unified, government-backed platform—consolidating digital learning resources, grievance redressal portals, helplines, and verified financial tools—can serve as a trusted source amid the current flood of unregulated content. Embedding financial education within formal schooling and higher education, especially using regional languages and culturally relevant examples, can build early awareness and long-term habits. It is equally important that the content reflects real-time risks—updating users on evolving scams, digital payment innovations, and policy shifts. Finally, encouraging deeper collaboration between fintech firms, educators, and regulators can ensure that digital platforms are not just technologically advanced, but also behaviourally intelligent—equipped with built-in nudges, fraud warnings, and default safety mechanisms. To make digital financial education truly effective, we need to move from passive consumption to active engagement. Hybrid models—blending digital tools with in-person mentorship, community coaching, or AI-driven personalization—can bridge this gap. Schools, colleges, fintech firms, and regulators must co-create programs that combine real-world simulations with culturally relevant case studies and feedback mechanisms. Financial literacy should not be an occasional campaign or an app feature—it must be an ongoing, evolving journey. Digital tools are powerful, but only when paired with critical thinking, trust in verified knowledge, and the ability to act on it. If we want citizens to make informed economic decisions, we must ensure that our approach to promoting financial education is not just limited to making it accessible, but also authentic, actionable, and inclusive—with grievance redress and fraud awareness forming its core. For broad-based financial sector participation, we need to move beyond clicks and scrolls, develop true understanding and nuances of financial markets, and help in building a sound and meaningful digital economy. As India envisions a Viksit Bharat—a developed and self-reliant nation by 2047—financial empowerment through digitalized financial education is central to that goal.
Time of India
4 hours ago
- Time of India
Winter is coming for oil — and not in a positive way
The oil market is deceptively calm. Below the apparent tranquility lies an underappreciated transformation that has slowly reshaped the market over the last 25 years — because the arrival of China and India as big consumers hasn't just given an enormous boost to demand, it's also altered the market's seasonality. And that matters a lot this year. Until recently, global oil demand peaked every year with the arrival of the Northern Hemisphere's winter. As temperatures dropped from October onward, heating oil and kerosene consumption spiked from the US to Germany to Japan. Hence, as recently as 2014, the fourth quarter still marked the annual high for crude demand and, typically, prices. Since then, the seasonality has flipped: Now, the third quarter sees higher demand and prices. The shift means the market is now at its tightest from July to September, rather than October to December. While one-time events can still have an effect — the 2008 global financial crisis, for example, or the Covid-19 pandemic that started in early 2020 — looking over a long enough timescale reveals the change clearly. Because it happened incrementally over a quarter of a century, it often doesn't get the attention it deserves. But the chart below makes it obvious. The change has three notable features. First, consumption of winter fuels including heating oil and kerosene is on a structural decline in the industrialized world, replaced by natural gas and electricity. Back in 1990, about 17per cent of American families heated their homes by burning some kind of refined petroleum product; today, that share has fallen to 9per cent. The collapse in demand for heating oil in Europe is even more pronounced. At the same time, jet-fuel consumption in those regions, which typically peaks during the summer holidays, is growing fast. Second, oil demand in fast-growing emerging nations follows different seasonal patterns, partly because of their locations closer to the equator, but also because of the larger role of their all-year-round industrial oil consumption. While industrialized nations mostly abandoned oil-fired power stations after the 1970s energy crisis, some emerging market countries, particularly in the Middle East, burn lots of crude for electricity generation and water desalination. At the peak last summer, Saudi Arabia burned more than 800,000 barrels a day to generate electricity for air conditioning — more than the daily total petroleum demand of Belgium. And third, climate change is reducing heating consumption by making winters warmer, and boosting holiday travel by making summers hotter. So this year, global third-quarter oil demand will be 500,000 barrels a day higher than fourth-quarter consumption. In a dataset going back to 1991, the current year will mark only the fifth time when winter demand will be lower than summer consumption. Despite rising production from the OPEC+ cartel, oil prices have stabilized in recent weeks at just over $65 a barrel — about $10 above the lows seen in early May. If anything, the physical oil market even feels a bit tight. It helps that China has mopped up much of the oil surplus, putting in May and June barrels into its expanding strategic and commercial stockpiles. But the squeeze will prove temporary; put another way, the market is defying gravity. Because of shifting seasonality, the Northern Hemisphere's summer is now the tightest period of the year. Winter — and an accompanying decrease in demand — is coming. For now, the few remaining oil bulls have a few straws of hope to cling to. Global crude refinery intake is rising swiftly this month and looks set to peak in August at a record 85.4 million barrels a day — enough to absorb the series of OPEC output increases. As a result, global oil stocks aren't increasing meaningfully near where it matters most to the market: the pricing points in northwestern Europe, home of the Brent benchmark, and the central area of the US, home to the West Texas Intermediate yardstick. But by October, when all of the cartel's supply hikes will have arrived, along with extra oil from Brazil, Guyana and Canada, refinery throughput will drop to 81.7 million barrels a day, according to the International Energy Agency. The difference – 3.7 million barrels a day – is equal to a couple of mid-sized OPEC nations. Even if China continues stockpiling as much as it has done over the last two months, the surplus would be so large that oil will flow into inventories elsewhere, including near the pricing points on both sides of the Atlantic. For sure, the market – and I – may be wrong about demand, supply, or both. The expected oil surplus during the now seasonally weaker fourth quarter may be smaller than anticipated. Still, on paper, the glut is so big that even if it turns to be a bit smaller, it would still be enough to put a lot of downward pressure on the market. As I said, winter is coming for the oil market.
