MODI GOVERNMENT MAY ALLOW EPFO TO INVEST IN MARKETS

NEW DELHI: The Narendra Modi government may shatter a longstanding bar on the state-run pension fund putting money into equities, sending a flood of money — estimated at Rs 6,000 crore per year at least — into the stock markets, potentially making this the biggest source of domestic institutional investment after LIC. Such a move, which comes as attractive returns from the Indian stock markets have drawn the world’s biggest pension funds, could ease some of the concentration of risk that stems from overseas investors dominating the market, experts said. India’s largest retirement fund, the Rs 6.5-lakh-crore Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO), has finally opened its mind about entering the stock market, after nearly