Maharatna tag for NTPC; 3 more get title without powers yet

The government has approved the Maharatna status for NTPC, IOC, ONGC and SAIL but only the power major can enjoy the autonomy that goes with the coveted status for the PSUs.

"The competent authority has approved the grant of Maharatna status IOC, NTPC, ONGC and SAIL," the Department of Public Enterprises said in an inter-ministerial communication.

While the four blue-chip PSUs have been given the new status, only NTPC "has the requisite number of non-official directors on its board and is therefore eligible to exercise the Maharatna powers", it said.

Though the other three companies also met the norms set by the Cabinet on December 24, their boards do not have the adequate number of independent directors, the DPE said.

"The Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas and the Ministry of Steel may take necessary steps to induct the requisite number of non-official directors on the boards of IOC, ONGC and SAIL so that they could also exercise delegated Maharatna powers," it said.

The boards of Maharatna PSUs will have powers to make equity investment up to Rs 5,000 crore to set up financial joint ventures and wholly-owned subsidiaries in India or abroad without government approval.

According to sources, the SAIL board is short of five non-official directors. The steel-maker has started the process of filling the vacancies.

The four firms fulfill the other criteria of a three-year track record of annual net profit of over Rs 5,000 crore, net worth of more than Rs 15,000 crore and turnover of more than Rs 25,000 crore, besides listing on the stock exchanges.

Of the 158 profit-making PSUs, 18 enjoy the Navratna status while 62 are mini-Navratnas. In all, there are 246 PSUs in the Central sector.