Evolution of the Share Sale Process for Indian State-Owned Enterprises: Data Analysis

SEBI has introduced a special framework in its 2025-26 annual report for the voluntary delisting of Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs). The main objective of this initiative is to simplify the delisting process and address issues arising from traditional share price determination methods. The most crucial question for small investors is how much they will receive upon selling their shares and how the withdrawal option will function after delisting.

Under SEBI's new framework, a path for delisting at a fixed price has been paved for some Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs). Small shareholders of certain government companies may receive an exit offer at least 15% higher than the floor price.

Delisting means that a company's shares are removed from the stock exchange, making it impossible to buy and sell the shares through normal exchange mechanisms. This framework will not apply to all government companies; it will apply only to PSUs that are not banks, NBFCs, or insurance companies. Furthermore, the Government of India and other PSUs must collectively hold at least 90% of the issued shares of the company.

According to SEBI, government companies are viewed as government-backed and relatively low-risk entities in the market. This directly impacts the market price of their shares, often causing the share value to be significantly higher than its book value. In the old system, there was excessive reliance on the 60-day volume-weighted average market price to determine the floor price. This often resulted in a high floor price, making it expensive for the government or promoter to buy the remaining shares from public shareholders and complicating the delisting process.

The new framework provides the option of delisting at a fixed price for eligible PSUs. Three criteria will be considered to determine the floor price. The first criterion is the volume-weighted average price paid or to be paid by the acquirer in the last 52 weeks. The second criterion is the highest price paid for an acquisition in the last 26 weeks. The third criterion is the joint valuation report of two independent and registered valuers. The highest price among these three will be considered the floor price. This will reduce dependence solely on the share market price and also incorporate the company's actual financial health into the valuation.

The most significant aspect of this special framework relates to the fixed offer price. In the case of eligible PSUs, the offer price must be at least 15% higher than the floor price. However, this does not imply that every investor will gain a profit of 15% or more over their purchase price. The final profit will depend on the price at which the investor bought the shares and the offer price determined during the delisting. Therefore, small shareholders must pay special attention to three things after the delisting announcement: the floor price, the fixed offer price, and the exit window.

It is not mandatory for every shareholder to sell immediately after delisting. However, the shares will not be listed for trading on the exchange after a period of one year. If the one-year period expires within 30 days from the date of delisting of the eligible PSU, the outstanding amount will be transferred to the account of the designated stock exchange. The exchange will hold this amount for seven years so that the concerned investor can claim it.

For a long time, Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) in education was evaluated based on the number of classrooms built, computers donated, or scholarships awarded. However, these criteria are changing today. As India's education system shifts from merely expanding access to improving learning outcomes, companies are increasingly investing in programs aimed at strengthening public schools, enhancing teacher training, improving employability, and establishing long-term partnerships with government institutions.

This shift is occurring at a critical juncture. India has made significant strides in ensuring school attendance for children. According to UDISE+ data for 2024-25, the country has 14.7 lakh schools, 24.7 crore students, and 1 crore teachers. Furthermore, the coverage of rural children aged 6 to 14 has reached 98%, and the literacy rate among those over seven years old stands at 81%.

Nevertheless, the next challenge is ensuring that children are actually acquiring knowledge. The ASER report for 2024 shows that among third-grade students in government schools, the proportion capable of reading second-grade level text increased from 16.3% in 2022 to 23.4% in 2024. Similarly, the percentage of students who can solve subtraction problems rose from 20.2% to 27.6%.

These improvements are encouraging, but they also highlight how much further there is to go. Government initiatives such as NIPUN Bharat, Samagra Shiksha, PM SHRI, and DIKSHA are attempting to address this issue through foundational literacy development, teacher training, digital education, and improving school infrastructure. However, the scale of the challenges means that government structures cannot handle everything alone, which is where CSR begins to play a more strategic role.

Education has become the largest recipient of CSR funding in India. According to the latest CSRBOX report, Indian companies spent ₹40,794 crore on CSR during the financial year 2024-25 across more than 72,000 projects. Education accounted for 34% of the total amount, making it the largest CSR sector in the country. More importantly, companies are moving away from one-off philanthropy towards multi-year programs, collaboration with the government, and data-driven outcome monitoring.

An example of this transition is the Bharti Airtel Foundation. During the financial year 2024-25, the foundation reported reaching over 22 lakh students in more than 16,000 schools. Its cumulative programs impacted 3.7 million students, over 36,000 schools, and more than 3.3 lakh teachers. Instead of focusing solely on infrastructure, its initiatives include teacher support, school transformation, life skills, and community engagement. The Satya Bharti School program operates in 164 rural schools across four states, while the Quality Support Program collaborates with government schools in 12 states.

Another example is Tata STRIVE, which reflects the growing emphasis on employability. In the financial year 2024-25, it directly covered over 4.5 lakh youth and reported a cumulative reach of over 22.5 lakh beneficiaries through skill development, career counseling, vocational training, and entrepreneurship programs. The focus extends beyond the classroom, ensuring that education leads to livelihoods and economic participation.

This evolution aligns with the evolving needs of India's education system. While access has improved significantly, important gaps remain. About 8% of youth aged 15–16 no longer attend school, with girls showing a slightly higher dropout rate compared to boys.

Infrastructure is also improving unevenly. Although over 99% of schools have drinking water and nearly 94% have electricity, only about two-thirds have access to computers and the internet, and only 35.6% are equipped with special toilets for children with special needs.

These issues require sustainable investments, not isolated interventions. CSR is increasingly being used not to replace public spending, but to supplement it by piloting new models, supporting teachers, strengthening school systems, and helping governments scale successful practices. India has already created one of the world's largest education systems. The next phase is ensuring that this scale translates into better outcomes. Public investment will remain the foundation, but if current trends continue, CSR could become a vital catalyst in transitioning schools from expanding access to improving learning, ensuring that every rupee invested brings long-term change for students, teachers, and communities.