Finance Ministry advises Central Public Sector Enterprises to pay dividends every quarter

 Finance Ministry has advised the Central Public Sector Enterprises (CPSEs) which pay higher dividends to pay the dividends every quarter rather than once in a year.

Other CPSEs have been suggested to pay dividends in a half-yearly basis.

The advisory comes at a time when the government is finding it difficult to raise revenue amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

In an advisory to the public sector companies under the Cetral government, the ministry said it has observed that most CPSEs pay interim dividend in February/March.

"The CPSEs, especially companies that pay relatively higher dividend (100 per cent dividend or Rs 10 per share), may consider paying interim dividend every quarter after quarterly results," it said.

The ministry has also said that CPSEs must have a consistent dividend policy.

The Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM), which comes under the Finance Ministry, said that all state-owned firms should consider paying at least 90 per cent of the projected annual dividend in one or more instalments as interim dividend.

As per the norms, PSUs have to pay a minimum annual dividend of 30 per cent of PAT or 5 per cent of net worth, whichever is higher.