India’s $2.3 trillion equity market has surged in recent years, and is about to get a new endorsement—from the nation’s pension regulator.
“We are pressing the government to increase the equity proportion for government employees, and expect a favourable response very soon,” from the finance ministry, Hemant Contractor, chairman of the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA), said in an interview in New Delhi Friday. The PFRDA has called for a bump to 50%, matching the maximum for private-sector pensions overseen by its National Pension System (NPS) arm.
India’s equity culture may also get a boost from a stewardship code to be rolled out for the country’s fund managers to push for corporate-governance best practices. The PFRDA, along with India’s insurance and securities regulators, is pursuing the new code, Contractor said.