Key Concepts & Self-Assessment15 Key Facts
Review key Maharatna & Navratna CPSEs exam facts and rate your mastery to track revision.
Progress: 0/15 Rated 0 Mastered 0 Review Later
#1
The Navratna and Miniratna classification schemes were introduced in 1997 during the Ninth Five-Year Plan to confer greater autonomy upon profit-making CPSEs.
#2
The Maharatna category was introduced by the Union Government in December 2009 to facilitate mega-investments by premier public sector undertakings.
#3
The Department of Public Enterprises (DPE), shifted from the Ministry of Heavy Industries to the Ministry of Finance in July 2021, governs CPSE categorizations.
#4
To qualify for Maharatna status, a CPSE must already hold Navratna status and be listed on an Indian stock exchange with minimum prescribed public shareholding.
#5
Maharatna financial criteria require an average annual net profit after tax of over ₹5,000 crore during the last three financial years.
#6
A CPSE seeking Maharatna status must have an average annual net worth of at least ₹15,000 crore and average annual turnover of at least ₹25,000 crore over three years.
#7
The board of directors of a Maharatna CPSE can sanction capital expenditure on joint ventures and subsidiaries up to ₹5,000 crore or 15% of net worth in one project.
#8
To attain Navratna status, a CPSE must be a Miniratna Category-I enterprise and hold an 'Excellent' or 'Very Good' rating under the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) system in three of the last five years.
#9
Navratna qualification requires scoring at least 60 out of 100 on six composite performance parameters: net profit to net worth, manpower cost to total cost, PBDIT to capital employed, PBIT to turnover, earnings per share, and inter-sectoral performance.
#10
The board of a Navratna CPSE can invest up to ₹1,000 crore or 15% of the company's net worth on a single project without prior government approval.
#11
Miniratna Category-I status requires a CPSE to have made profits continuously for the last three years with a pre-tax profit of at least ₹30 crore in at least one of the three years.
#12
Miniratna Category-II status requires a CPSE to have made continuous profits for the last three financial years and possess a positive net worth.
#13
Miniratna Category-I boards can incur capital expenditure without government approval up to ₹500 crore or equal to net worth, whichever is lower.
#14
Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC), National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC), and Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL) were among the foundational CPSEs inducted into Maharatna status in 2010.
#15
In 2023, Oil India Limited (OIL) was elevated to become India's 13th Maharatna CPSE, while ONGC Videsh Limited (OVL) was upgraded to Navratna status.
Subject Specialist Commentary
Analytical perspective & practical exam advice from the Master10 academic board
Central Public Sector Enterprises are graded into Miniratna, Navratna, and Maharatna tiers to grant profitable state corporations financial and managerial independence from direct ministry supervision. Introduced across stages since 1997, this hierarchy allows top-performing public companies to make major domestic and international investments quickly. Today, the Department of Public Enterprises under the Ministry of Finance oversees these norms, granting boards substantial autonomy based on consistent net profit, net worth, and annual turnover thresholds.
Competitive exams regularly quiz the financial criteria for Maharatna status, so fix the 3-year averages in memory: 5,000 crore rupees net profit, 15,000 crore net worth, and 25,000 crore turnover. A common prelims trap assumes any profitable company can become a Maharatna; in reality, it must already hold Navratna status and trade on a stock exchange. In SSC and PSC papers, note that Maharatna boards can greenlight single projects up to 5,000 crore rupees without cabinet clearance.
Related Knowledge Topics to Discover
Looking for more GK practice?
Explore 52,789+ questions across 65 General Knowledge categories.