“The government has succeeded in raising Rs 14,500 crore through the Bharat-22 Exchange Traded Fund (ETF) which received bids worth a staggering Rs 32,000 crore, the highest ever for a mutual fund. The government had launched the Bharat-22 ETF comprising stocks of blue-chip public sector companies in August with plans to raise Rs 8,000 crore.”, reported Business Today. Bharat 22 ETF opened for subscription on November 14, 2017 and closed on November 17, 2017 with an initial issue size of INR 8,000 crores. The issue was over-subscribed four times and DIPAM later raised the issue size to INR 14,500 crores and was listed on the stock exchange on November 28, 2017.

Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas acted as the legal counsel to ICICI Prudential Asset Management Company (AMC), which was appointed by the Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM) for the for the creation, launch and management of the ETF, and was led by Mumbai-based partner Shagoofa Rashid Khan.

Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas also acted as the legal advisor to Kotak Mahindra Capital, which was appointed as advisors to DIPAM on a Chinese-wall basis, with the consent of both parties and was led by Delhi-based partner Gokul Rajan.

The ETF was announced by the Finance Minister in the budget speech for 2017 – 2018 after the successful launch of the CPSE ETF and its Follow-on Offers. With the launch of the BHARAT 22 ETF, the DIPAM has successfully divested shares of 22 public sector enterprises across sectors including shares of Oil & Natural Gas Corporation Limited, Coal India Limited and Indian Oil Corporation Limited, State Bank of India, Bank of Baroda and others.