The government on Friday made a minimum of 25 per cent public shareholding mandatory for companies listed on the stock exchange.
This step could allow the companies to raise around Rs 2 lakh crores from the market, according to a study by Crisil Equities.
There are around 179 listed companies where the public shareholding is below the now mandatory 25 per cent.
This will also check share price manipulation and tackle the problem of over-pricing of public issues.