Maharatnas, Navratnas: India's best PSUs!

Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, India's first prime minister, called public sector units 'the temples of modern India'. Since India's independence, PSUs have contributed significantly towards the growth of the Indian economy.

The best among the PSUs are given the title of 'Maharatna' or 'Navratna. The title 'Navratna' was given originally to nine public sector enterprises (PSEs), identified by the Government of India in 1997, which allowed them greater autonomy to compete in the global market.

The Navratna status is conferred by the Department of Public Enterprises.

The Navratna status offered to PSEs gives them enhanced financial and operational autonomy and empowers them to invest up to Rs 1,000 crore (Rs 10 billion) or 15 per cent of their net worth on a single project without seeking government approval.

In a year, these companies can spend up to 30 per cent of their net worth not exceeding Rs 1,000 crore (Rs 10 billion). They will also have the freedom to enter joint ventures, form alliances and float subsidiaries abroad.

A public sector undertaking (PSU) is a government-owned corporation in the public sector. The management control of the company lies with the government, either central or the state government or both. The government holds 51 per cent or more of the company equity in the PSUs.

Companies that could qualify as a 'Maharatna' needed to have an annual net worth of Rs 15,000 crore (Rs 150 billion) in the last three years and an annual profit post tax of Rs 5,000 crore (Rs 50 billion). Many of the existing Navratnas will over a period qualify for Maharatna status.

Click NEXT to check out which are India's best public sector giants . . .

The Maharatnas

Indian Oil Corporation

Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) is one of the four Maharatna companies in India. The company is into oil exploration and production, petrochemicals and renewable energy.

It is the leading Indian corporate in the Fortune 'Global 500' listing, ranked at the 125th position this year.

With an over 34,000-strong workforce, Indian Oil has been helping to meet India's energy demands for over half a century. Indian Oil has posted a profit of Rs 17,333.23 crore (Rs 173.33 billion) for financial year ended March 2010.

The company was formerly known as Indian Oil Company and changed its name to Indian Oil Corporation Limited in September 1964 as a result of the merger with Indian Refineries.

Indian Oil Corporation Limited was founded in 1958.

B M Bansal is the current chairman of IOC. The company has subsidiaries in Sri Lanka, Mauritius and the United Arab Emirates and is scouting for new business opportunities in the energy markets of Asia and Africa.

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NTPC

NTPC (formerly known as National Thermal Power Corporation) is the largest power generating company in India. It received Maharatna status in May 2010.

The company has installed capacity of over 31,000 MW. It currently operates over 26 power stations.

Currently, over 17,000 MW capacity is under construction at 19 projects in 12 states and NTPC plans to become a 75 GW by 2017.

The company was set up in 1975 to accelerate power development in India. The company currently employs around 24,500 people.

R S Sharma is the chairman and managing director of the company.

Apart from power generation, NTPC has already ventured into consultancy, power trading, ash utilisation and coal mining.

NTPC ranked 317th in the '2009, Forbes Global 2000' ranking of the World's biggest companies.

The company has posted a profit of 13,535.52 crore (Rs 135.36 billion) for financial year ended March 2010.

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Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Limited

Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Limited (ONGC) ranks third in oil and gas exploration and production (E&P) company in the world.

The company occupies 155th rank in Forbes Global 2000 list 2010 of the world's biggest companies.

ONGC's wholly-owned subsidiary ONGC Videsh Ltd. (OVL) is the biggest Indian multinational, with 40 oil & gas projects in 15 countries.

OVL had invested around Rs 50,000 crore (Rs 500 billion) in these projects. ONGC posted a profit of Rs 39,642.63 crore ( Rs 396.43 billion) for the financial year ended March 2010. The company's net worth is estimated at Rs 8,6400 crore (Rs 864 billion).

The company's products primarily comprise crude oil, natural gas, liquefied petroleum gas, naphtha, ethane/propane, aromatic naphtha, kerosene oil, high speed diesel, motor spirit, and aviation turbine fuel.

It also owns and operates oil and natural gas pipe lines and employs around 41,000 people.

R S Sharma is the chairman and managing director of the company.

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Steel Authority of India Limited

Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL) is the leading steel-making company in India.

It is a fully integrated iron and steel maker, producing both basic and special steels for domestic construction, engineering, power, railway, automotive and defence industries and for sale in export markets.
 
The company is ranked amongst the top ten public sector companies in India in terms of turnover. SAIL manufactures and sells a broad range of steel products. It produces iron and steel at five integrated plants and three special steel plants.

The company has the distinction of being India's second largest producer of iron ore and of having the country's second largest mines network.

This gives SAIL a competitive edge in terms of captive availability of iron ore, limestone, and dolomite which are inputs for steel making.

Sail posted a profit of Rs 11,469.27 crore ( Rs 114.69 billion) for the financial year ended March 2010.

Chandra Shekhar Verma is the chairman of SAIL.

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The Navaratnas

Bharat Electronics Limited

Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) was established at Bangalore by the government under the Ministry of Defence in 1954 to meet the specialised need of Indian defence services.

Over the years, the company has grown into a multi-product, multi-technology, multi-unit company serving the needs of customers in diverse fields in India and abroad. BEL, is a strategic electronics company of the Ministry of Defence.

The company specialises in the manufacture of a wide spectrum of technology like radars, military communications, naval systems, electronic warfare systems, Telecommunications, Sound and Vision Broadcasting, Opto-Electronics, Tank Electronics, Solar Photovoltaic Systems, Embedded Software and Electronic Components.

BEL has its corporate office at Bangalore and manufacturing units at nine locations in India.

The company has posted a net profit of  Rs 72.09 crore (Rs 7208.71 million) for the year ended March 2010.

Ashwani Kumar Datt is the Chairman and Managing Director of BEL.

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Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited

Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL) is the largest engineering and manufacturing enterprise in India.

It offers a range of products and systems for thermal, nuclear, gas, and hydro-based utility power plats, including air pre-heaters, boilers, control relay panels, electrostatic precipitators, fabric filters, fans, gas turbines, hydro power plant, piping systems, pulverizers, pumps, seamless steel tubes, soot blowers, steam generators, steam turbines, turbo generators, and valves.

BHEL manufactures over 180 products under 30 major product groups and caters to core sectors of the Indian economy.

The company's operations are organised around three business sectors, namely power, industry - including transmission, transportation and renewable energy - and overseas business.

The company employs around 42,600 people. BHEL is one of the largest exporters of engineering products & services from India.

BP Rao is the chairman and managing director of BHEL.

Bharat Heavy Electricals posted a profit of Rs 7048.66 crore (Rs 70.49 billion) for the financial year ended March 2010.

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Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited

Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL) primarily engages in refining, storing, marketing, and distributing petroleum products in India.

It also explores for and produces hydrocarbons. The company was formerly known as Bharat Refineries Limited and changed its name to Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited in August 1977.

It has interests in 26 exploration blocks in India, Australia, the United Kingdom, Oman, Mozambique, East Timor, and Brazil.

The company's product line includes liquefied petroleum gas, naphtha, motor spirit, special boiling point spirit/hexane, benzene, toluene, polypropylene feedstock, and regassified-LNG; aviation turbine fuel, superior kerosene oil, high speed diesel, light diesel oil, and mineral turpentine oil; and furnace oil, low sulphur heavy stock, bitumen, and lubricants.

The company has approximately 6553 retail outlets and 1007 kerosene dealers.

It caters to the fuel needs of various industrial customers comprising industries from the public and private sectors; and government establishments, such as defense, railways, state trading corporations, and state electricity boards.

The company posted a profit of Rs 3608.37 crore (Rs 36.08 billion) for the financial year ended March 2010.

S Radhakrishnan is the chairman & managing director of the company.

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Coal India Limited

Coal India Limited (CIL) is 'Navratna' Public Sector Undertaking under the Ministry of Coal.

The company produces non-coking coal and coking coal of various grades for diverse applications.

It operates 471 mines in 21 major coalfields across eight states in India. Coal India's major consumers are the power and steel sectors. Others include cement, fertiliser, brick kilns etc.

Coal India is estimated to have posted a net profit of $1.4 billion on $9.1 billion revenues in 2009-10.

Coal India has cash reserves of Rs 36,000 crore (Rs 360 billion).

Partha S Bhattacharyya is the chairman of the company.

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Gas Authority of India Limited

Gas Authority of India Limited, is India's flagship natural gas company, integrating all aspects of the natural gas value chain and its related services.

The company was previously known as Gas Authority of India.

It is India's principal gas transmission and marketing company. It was set up by the government in August 1984 to create gas sector infrastructure.

The company has 27 oil and gas exploration blocks and 1 coal bed methane blocks.

The company posted a turnover of Rs. 24,996 crore (Rs 249.96 billion) and a net profit of Rs 3,140 crore (Rs 31.4 billion) was posted by the company in FY10.

The 2800-km Hazira-Vijaipur-Jagdishpur  pipeline of GAIL became operational in 1991.

During 1991-93, three LPG plants were constructed and some regional pipelines acquired, enabling GAIL to begin its regional gas distribution in various parts of India.

In 2001, GAIL commissioned world's longest and India's first cross country LPG transmission pipeline from Jamnagar to Loni.

The company has also extended its presence in Power, LNG re-gasification, city gas distribution and exploration & production through equity and joint ventures participations.

B C Tripathi is the CMD of GAIL.

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Hindustan Aeronautics Limited

Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) is one of the largest aerospace companies in Asia with its annual turnover to be running above $2 billion.

The company came into existence on October 1, 1964.

The company was formed by the merger of Hindustan Aircraft Limited with Aeronautics India Limited and Aircraft Manufacturing Depot, Kanpur.

Late industrialist Seth Walchand Hirachand set up Hindustan Aircraft Limited at Bangalore in association with the erstwhile princely State of Mysore in December 1940.

The  government became a shareholder in March 1941 and took over the Management in 1942.

HAL has manufactured over 3550 aircraft, 3600 engines and overhauled over 8150 aircraft and 27,300 engines.

HAL has been successful in numerous R & D programs developed for both Defence and Civil Aviation sectors.

Ashok Nayak is the chairman of the company.

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Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited

Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL) is a Fortune 500 company, with an annual turnover of  Rs 1,08,599 crore (Rs 1086 billion).

The Company was incorporated in the name of Standard Vacuum Refining Company of India on July 5, 1952. Later, the name was changed to ESSO Standard Refining Company of India.

Hindustan Petroleum Corporation came into being after the takeover and merger of erstwhile Esso Standard and Lube India in 1974.

HPCL operates 2 major refineries, one in Mumbai and the other in Vishakapatnam. The company produces a wide variety of petroleum fuels & specialties. HPCL also owns and operates the largest Lube Refinery in the country.

The company has posted a profit of Rs 3,285.59 crore (Rs 32.85 billion) for the financial year ended March 2010.

S. Roy Choudhury is the chairman & managing director of HPCL.

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Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited

Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited (MTNL) was set up on 1st April, 1986 by the government for the telecom development needs of Delhi and Mumbai.

The company has achieved a customer base of 8.06 million in the two metro cities of Delhi and Mumbai.

The government currently holds 56.25 per cent stake in the company.

MTNL's revenue dropped nearly by a fifth highest among the top 10 players -- to Rs 3,650 crore (Rs 36.5 billion) in FY10.

Today it has more than 9,00,000 GSM mobile connections.

The company was in the forefront of technology induction by converting 100 per cent of its telephone exchange network into the state-of-the-art digital mode.

Kuldip Singh is chairman and managing director of MTNL.

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National Aluminium Company

National Aluminium Company (Nalco) produces and exports alumina and aluminum products in India and internationally.

Its operations primarily comprise bauxite mining, alumina refining, aluminium smelting and casting, power generation, and rail and port operations.

The company was incorporated in 1981 in the public sector, to exploit a part of the large deposits of bauxite discovered in the East Coast.

Nalco has rewritten the history of Indian Aluminium Industry by giving a technological edge in producing aluminium to the best of world standards.

The company has posted a profit of Rs 1512.94 crore (Rs 15.13 billion) for the financial year ended March 2010.

A K Srivastava is the CMD of Nalco.

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National Mineral Development Corporation

National Mineral Development Corporation (NMDC) is India's single largest iron ore producer and exporter.

The company produces about 30 million tonnes of iron ore from 3 fully mechanised mines. The company was incorporated in 1958.

NMDC has the only mechanised diamond mine in the country with a capacity of 1,00,000 carats / annum at Panna (Madhya Pradesh).

The company has posted a profit of Rs 5,283.94 crore (Rs 52.84 billion) for the financial year ended March 2010.

Rana Som is CMD of NMDC.

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Oil India Limited

Oil India Limited (OIL) is engaged in the business of exploration, development and production of crude oil and natural gas, transportation of crude oil and production of LPG.

In 1959, Oil India Private Limited was incorporated to expand and develop the newly discovered oil fields of Naharkatiya and Moran in the North East.

In 1961, it became a joint venture company between the Indian Government and Burmah Oil Company Limited, UK.

In 1981, OIL became a wholly-owned Government of India enterprise. The company has a manpower strength of about 8800 persons.

The company has posted a profit of Rs 4,658.90 crore (Rs 46.59 billion) for the financial year ended March 2010.

Nayan Mani Borah is the chairman and managing director of OIL.

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Power Finance Corporation

Power Finance Corporation (PFC) was set up in July 1986 as a financial institution dedicated to power sector financing.

PFC is providing large range of financial products and services and employs around 330 people.

The major part of PFC's funds are raised through rupee denominated bonds.

PFC also finances of other infrastructure projects which have backward linkages to the power sector like coal mine development, fuel transportation, oil & gas pipelines etc.

The company has posted a profit of Rs 3,017.29 crore (Rs 30.17 billion) for the financial year ended March 2010.

Satnam Singh is the chairman and managing director of PFC.

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Power Grid Corporation of India Ltd

Power Grid, a Navratna public sector enterprise, is one of the largest transmission utilities in the world.

The company was formerly known as National Power Transmission Corporation Limited and changed its name to Power Grid Corporation of India Ltd. in October 1992. Power Grid Corporation of India was founded in 1989.

It wheels about 45 per cent of the total power generated in the country on its transmission network. The company also involves in planning, coordinating, supervising, and controlling inter-state transmission systems.

The company has posted a profit of Rs 4,702.28 crore (Rs 47.02 billion) for the financial year ended March 2010.

S K Chaturvedi is the chairman and managing director of the company.

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Rural Electrification Corporation

Rural Electrification Corporation Limited (REC) is a public sector enterprise under Ministry of Power.

The company was incorporated on July 25, 1969. The company has a net worth of Rs. 11,080 crore (Rs 110.80 billion) as on March 31, 2010.

Its main objective is to finance and promote rural electrification projects all over the country.

The company has posted a profit of Rs 2,651.35 crore (Rs 26.51 billion) for the financial year ended March 2010.

Jairaj Moreshwar Phatak is chairman and managing director of REC.

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Shipping Corporation of India

The Shipping Corporation of India (SCI) is the largest shipping company in India.

It was established in 1961, by the amalgamation of Eastern Shipping Corporation and Western Shipping Corporation.

Though the company started with just 19 vessels today has a significant presence on the global maritime map.

SCI owns and operates around one-third of the Indian tonnage and is the only Indian shipping company engaged in transportation of LNG.

The company has posted a profit of Rs 856.08 crore (Rs 8.56 billion) for the financial year ended March 2010.

S Hajara is chairman and managing director of SCI.