Compared to this, the mobilisation in the first half of last year was to the tune of Rs 1,376 crore, Prime Database, a leading primary market monitor said. The decline in rights issues indicate that companies had either reduced or deferred capital expenditure on diversification or expansion projects.

Prime said only three listed companies took the public issue route in the first half raising a meagre Rs 72 crore and the investor response for both rights and public issues were poor with many issues facing problems in going through.

Prithvi Haldea of Prime said the fall in the rights mobilisation was because of continued apathy of investors, courtesy poor state of secondary capital market. This was heightened by the bad experience from the rights issues boom in the 1992-93 to 1993-94 period when mostcorporates took advantage of the free pricing guidelines.

Haldea said given the state of the market and investor's apathy, the rest of the year is not likely to see any improvement in the situation. Only one rights issue, Shamken Multifab has opened in October. Even among those companies which have obtained clearances from the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), some like Videcon Appliances and Shaw Wallace India Ltd (SWIL) have been deferring their issues for the past four to five months, Prime said.