Thursday, March 18, 2010

SAIL, NTPC seek Maharatna status

 

BloombergUTV /PTI
Published on Thu, Mar 18, 2010 at 12:24 IST



NEW DELHI: SAIL and NTPC, two of the blue- chip PSUs,
have approached the government seeking the coveted
Maharatna status that will give them greater financial autonomy.

"We have received their applications. We will send them to the
Cabinet Secretary within 15 days," Bhaskar Chatterjee
Secretary in the Department of Public Enterprises told PTI.

He said, applications from oil PSUs--ONGC and IOC--are also expected in the next few days.

The Union Cabinet had cleared the Maharatna scheme in December 2009 and set the eligibility norms for the same.

For the Maharatna tag, companies need to have 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 being listed on the stock exchanges.

At present, only these four firms meet the stringent criteria.

A Maharatna tag will give the companies the power to take
investment decisions of up to Rs 5,000 crore independent of
the government against the present limit of Rs 1,000 crore,
accorded to them under the Navratna status.

Of the 158 profit-making PSUs, 18 enjoy the Navratna status while 62 are mini-Navratnas.

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