The government has exempted the merger of oil and gas PSUs as well as the PSBs from the purview of competition watchdog CCI to ensure that its consolidation plans for these two sectors do not breach any norms on anti-competitive practices. With this, the transfer of HPCL's stake to ONGC early next year may not run into any legal obstacles. Earlier, Neeraj Kumar Gupta, Secretary, Department of Investment and Public Asset Management, had said that the deal, which is part of the disinvestment line-up, is on track. While the exemption relaxation for the oil and gas sector is valid for five years, it will be available for PSBs for 10 years.