Shareholders of state-owned Engineers India Ltd have approved buyback/ share repurchase of nearly 7 crore shares for about Rs 587 crore with a view to return surplus cash to shareholders, the largest being the government of India. The company said in a regulatory filing

Of the 63.19 crore shares, 47.8 crore or 75.6 percent voted on the resolution. Of these, 47.78 crore or 99.96 percent voted in favour, the company said. EIL said it will buy back 6.98 crore or 11.06 percent of the fully paid-up equity shares at a price of Rs 84 apiece.

The government of India holds a 51.50 percent stake in the firm that provides engineering consultancy for projects. The government has asked at least eight state-run companies to consider share buybacks as it scours for ways of raising funds to rein in its fiscal deficit.

The firms asked to consider share buybacks include miner Coal India, power utility NTPC, and minerals producer NMDC. The government wants public sector undertakings to either meet their targets for capital expenditure or ''reward the shareholder in the form of a dividend'' or share buyback.

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