Samrudhi Enterprises Ltd. established a Trust. The Trust holds some shares of the company obtained by it for the purpose of implementation of Share Based Employee Benefit Scheme in the company. Answer the following in th

No, shares held by the Trust established for Share Based Employee Benefit Schemes cannot be included in the category of public holding . As per Regulation 3(9) of the SEBI (Share Based Employee Benefits and Sweat Equity) Regulations, 2021, the shares held by such a trust shall not form part of the public shareholding. This is crucial because listed companies are required to maintain a minimum public shareholding of twenty-five percent as prescribed under the Securities Contracts (Regulation) Rules, 1957. Excluding trust-held shares from public holding ensures compliance with this requirement and prevents artificial inflation of public float.