List of Maharatna and Navratna Companies in India

The Central Public Sector Companies are classified into three categories, Miniratna, Navratna, and Maharatna. Of the three categories, Miniratna is the primary one and is further subdivided into Miniratna Category-I and Miniratna Category-II companies. The CPEs are awarded these statuses based on several criteria like position on the Indian stock exchange, annual turnover, manpower, net worth, average profit, etc. These are some of the essential criteria. A CPE must be Navratna first to be recognized as Maharatna, and it must be Miniratna to be recognized as Navratna.  

There are nearly 74 Miniratna companies, of which 62 belong to Category-I, and 12 belong to Category-II. There are about 10 total maharatna companies in India and 14 navratna companies. Here, we will learn ‘what is a Maharatna company, and what is a navratna company’. 

Also, a short list of maharatna and navratna companies in India, the eligibility criteria, and investment benefits for the Maharatna and Navratna companies are discussed below.

Eligibility for the Navratna Status 

A score on the scale of 100 is calculated for a Public Sector Undertaking company to determine if it can be recognized as a Navratna. Also, it has to be a recognized Miniratna company to be eligible for the Navratna status. There must be at least four directors acting independently on the PSU’s board to determine its eligibility. The below-listed factors are considered to calculate the score for determining Navratna eligibility.

• The total cost for manpower  

• The cost of all services

• The company’s net profit

• The capital invested or employed

• The company’s net worth

• The total profit before deduction of taxes, implementation of depreciation, and interest.

On a scale of 100, the overall score must be at least 60 for a Public Sector Undertaking to be considered for the Navratna status.

Investment Benefits of Navratna Companies

The Navratna companies are likely to have high benefits against investments. The benefits can go as high as 30 percent of a CPE’s annual net worth or about 15 percent of its net worth from any project. In both cases, the benefits cannot go beyond 1000 crores.

Eligibility for the Maharatna Status

Maharatna is the top category of the central public sector companies in India. The government of India established it in 2010. In general, the public sector undertaking companies are classified on the basis of special objectives (non-financial). The registration of the PSUs is done under the Companies Act 2013, Section 8. A Central Public Sector Enterprise must be a Navratna company first to be considered for the Maharatna status. Before discussing the maharatna company list let us go through the other eligibility criteria for a CPE to be recognized as a Maharatna are listed below.

• The company’s average net worth per year should be maintained at 15000 crores INR, for a minimum of three years.

• Its average turnover per year should be 25000 crores INR for a minimum of three years.

• It must be recognized on the National Stock Exchange of India and should have the minimum public shareholders as specified by the SEBI regulations.    

• It must bear international operations to exhibit a global presence.

• It must have an average net profit of 5000 crores INR per year, for at least the last three years consecutively.

Investment Benefits of Maharatna Companies

The investment benefits for the Maharatna companies are likely to be as high as 5000 crores INR, or somewhere between 1000 crores INR and 5000 crores INR. Also, it is free to determine the benefits for investments that go up to 15 percent of the net worth of a Maharatna in any project.

List of the top 5 Maharatna Companies

There are 10 Maharatna companies in India and these companies are major contributors to the economy of our country. Below is a brief introduction to the top 5 Maharatna companies and their operations. 

Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC)

The Oil and Natural Gas Corporation was established in 1956, and the status of Maharatna was conferred on it in 2010. ONGC is the leading producer and distributor of natural gas and crude oil and meets about 75% of the total domestic production of the same in our country. With twenty-six sedimentary basins of our country, it operates over 11,000 kilometre long pipelines. It has discovered six gas-producing basins of India.

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The subsidiaries of this Maharatna company are listed below:

• Mangalore Refinery Petrochemicals Limited (acquired by ONGC in 2003).

• HPCL or Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited. 

• ONGC Videsh Limited (Its international arm) 

Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL)

The leading commercial oil company, Indian Oil Corporation Limited, was established in 1959. It was conferred with the coveted status of Maharatna in 2010. It has subsidiaries in UAE, The Netherlands, Mauritius, Singapore, the USA, Sri Lanka, and Sweden. IOCL operates in:

• Exploration and production of petrochemicals, natural gas, and crude oil

• Refining of petroleum products

• Transporting through Pipeline 

• Marketing of the petrochemical products

This organization operates in exploring and distributing alternative energy. 

Coal India Limited

Established in 1975, Coal India Limited became a Maharatna company in April 2011. It is the world’s largest producer of coal, headquartered in Kolkata, West Bengal. CIL has several subsidiaries, namely:

• Central Coalfields Limited

• Bharat Coking Coal Limited

• Northern Coalfields Limited

• Western Coalfields Limited

• Eastern Coalfields Limited

• Mahanadi Coalfields Limited

• Central Mine Planning and Design Institute

• South Eastern Coalfields Limited

National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC)

The National Thermal Power Corporation was established in 1975 as a government-owned company. It was conferred the status of a Maharatna company in May 2010. With five regional headquarters, NTPC is India’s largest generator and distributor of electricity. It has its power plants and regional offices in about 70 locations in our country. Also, it operates from two locations in Bangladesh and one location in Sri Lanka. Apart from the exploration of natural gas, it also operates in its production, transportation, and distribution. 

Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL)

Established in 1964, BHEL is among the most significant engineering and manufacturing companies in India. This Maharatna company is governed by the Ministry of Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises of our country and has its headquarters in New Delhi.

Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited is India’s largest manufacturer of power generating equipment. It jointly manufactures and supplies defence equipment like simulators, the Super Rapid Gun Mount naval guns, etc., with the Ordnance Factory Board to the Indian Army. Also, the Indian Railways outsources the electric locomotives from BHEL. The major sectors of the Indian economy that outsource services and products from this Maharatna company are listed below.

• Oil and Gas

• Power and Transmission Industry

• Renewable Energy

• Transport

• Defence

List of the Top 5 Navratna Companies

There are 14 public sector companies that are conferred the status of Navratna by the central government of India. A brief description of the main activities of these companies are given below.

Bharat Electronics Limited

Bharat Electronics Limited was established in 1954, with its headquarters in Bengaluru, Karnataka. It is among the top Navratna companies in India. BEL comes under the governance of the central government and is one of the top defence and aerospace companies with many regional offices and nine factories in India. 

The major products of Bharat Electronics Limited are as follows.

• Weapon Systems

• Electronic Voting Machines

• Radars

• C4I Systems

• Avionics

The yearly revenue earned by this Navratna company roughly comes to 12,921.11 crores INR, as per the data of the last year.

Engineers India Limited

Governed under the management of the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, the Engineers India Limited or EIL is a recognized Navratna PSU. In 1965, this organization was established with the objective of providing technical services (such as engineering services) to petroleum refineries. It also provides technical support to the other ongoing industrial projects. In the below-listed fields, Engineers India Limited is one of the most reliable contracting companies in our country in terms of design, engineering, and turnkey.

• Mining and Metallurgy

• Pipelines

• Onshore and offshore oil and gas

• Petroleum refining

• Terminals and storage

• Petrochemicals, fertilizers, and chemicals

• Infrastructure

National Aluminium Company (NALCO)

Headquartered at Bhubaneshwar in Odisha, the National Aluminium Company or NALCO is the producer of the world’s cheapest bauxite and alumina of metallurgical grade. It operates in:

• refining of alumina, 

• mining of bauxite,  

• power generation,

• smelting and casting of aluminium,

• port and rail operations. 

This organization is recognized as a Navratna and is among the biggest integrated Bauxite-Alumina-Aluminium-Power Complex in India.

Container Corporation of India

The Container Corporation of India also referred to as CONCOR, is a recognized Navratna company. It is a Public Sector Undertaking and was registered under the Companies Act in 1988. CONCOR operates under the management of the Indian Ministry of Railways. In 1989, this organization began its operations with an old network of inland container depots. The network comprised seven ICDs that previously belonged to the Indian Railway department. This organization manages the cargo transport in railways.  

Hindustan Aeronautics Limited 

The headquarters of Hindustan Aeronautics Limited is located in Bengaluru. Also referred to as HAL, it comes under the management of the central government. It operates in the aerospace and defence industry. Hindustan Aeronautics Limited is recognized as a Navratna company and comes under the governance of the Indian Ministry of Defense. 

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As mentioned, this organization contributes to the aerospace operations of the country and is currently working in the following verticals.

• Jet Engines

• Fabrication of aircraft and its assembling

• Design

• Helicopters (also, they work on the spare parts of helicopters)