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The Rajiv Gandhi Equity Saving Scheme, announced during this year’s budget, is a tax exemption scheme aimed at new retail investors. Ever since then we have various groups lobbying and trying to grab a share of this pie. However, you may have hardly read any viewpoints from the new retail investor, the only target group of this scheme!

So here it is! Personal reaction of a newbie retail investor…His fears, his confusions and his optimism about this scheme…

Much has been written about the newly introduced Rajiv Gandhi Equity Saving Scheme for investors. While we all still wait for clarity on it, there seems to be some negativity surrounding the scheme. Most of this comes from the Mutual Fund industry, that according to some reports may be excluded from the ambit of this scheme.

However, we at MoneyWorks4me.com feel that the scheme is a step in the right direction to encourage direct equity investments. We feel it might actually give the much required boost to new equity investors along with a safe direction to investing.

So, let’s find out why this might turn out to be a boon for retail investors?

Budget 2012-13 – was expected to be a reformist budget, set the tone for the next decade, uplift the economy from the drudges it seems to be in, reduce the fiscal deficit, etc, etc. In short, it was a budget expected to have something for everyone. All of this, increased expectations and left a herculean task in front of Mr. Pranab Mukherjee.

But was the budget actually successful in fulfilling these expectations? Let’s find out.

L&T Finance Holdings, the financial subsidiary of the engineering giant Larsen and Toubro is all set to go public with its much-delayed IPO on the 27th July, 2011. This is the first public issue from the house of L&T, since the parent’s listing way back in 1950.

The IPO comes at a time when the global markets are turbulent, interest rates are firming up and retail appetite in the primary market is virtually absent. Many believe that the L&T brand may do wonders for the IPO. The price band for the issue has been fixed at Rs. 51 – 59 per share

So, should you invest in this IPO???

Power Finance Corporation (PFC), a Nav Ratna PSU, specializes in financing power projects and is known to be the ‘Financial Backbone of the Power Sector’. It came out with its Initial Public Offer in 2007 and since then has reported robust growth in its financials. The company has now come out with a Follow-on Public Offer which will enable it to raise close to Rs. 3500 Cr. from the sale of fresh equity while the Government will raise close to Rs. 1100 Cr. from the sale of part of its stake in the company. The price band for this follow-on public offering has been fixed at Rs. 193 – 203.

PFC was recently classified as an Infrastructure Finance Company which gives it an operational edge over its competitors. While this augurs well for the company, certain concerns like rising interest rates and a concentrated loan book, yet remain.

So, considering these factors, does this ‘Financial backbone of the Power Sector’ provide a good investment opportunity?