The government of India on October 23, 2019 accorded ‘Maharatna’ status to two PSUs namely; Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL) and Power Grid Corporation of India Limited (PGCIL).
The grant of Maharatna status to the PSUs will impart enhanced powers to their boards to take financial decisions. Besides, their board will enjoy greater autonomy for equity investments to undertake financial joint ventures and wholly owned subsidiaries and undertake mergers and acquisitions in India and abroad, subject to a ceiling of 15 per cent of he net worth of the concerned CPSE, limited to Rs 5,000 crore in one project.
These companies boards can also structure and implement schemes relating to personnel and human resource management and training. They can also enter into technology joint ventures or other strategic alliances, among others.
They are empowered to transfer assets, float fresh equity and divest shareholding in subsidiaries, subject to the condition that the delegation will only be in respect of the subsidiaries set up by the holding company.
About HPCL
HPCL was incorporated in 1974 after the takeover and merger of erstwhile Esso Standard and Lube India through the Esso (Acquisition of Undertaking in India) Act passed by Parliament. HPCL owns & operates 2 major refineries producing a wide variety of petroleum fuels & specialties, one in Mumbai (West Coast) of 7.5 Million Metric Tonnes Per Annum (MMTPA) capacity and the other in Visakhapatnam, (East Coast) with a capacity of 8.3 MMTPA. HPCL also owns and operates the largest Lube Refinery in the country producing Lube Base Oils of international standards, with a capacity of 428 TMT.
About Power Grid Corporation
Power Grid Corporation of India Limited (POWERGRID), is an Indian state-owned electric utility company headquartered in Gurugram. It transmits about 50% of the total power generated in India on its transmission network. It is a listed company since 2007.
The eligibility criteria laid down by the Government for grant of Maharatna, Navratna and Miniratna status to Central Public Sector Enterprises (CPSEs) are following:
Criteria for grant of Maharatna status
The CPSEs fulfilling the following criteria are eligible to be considered for grant of Maharatna status:
(i) Having Navratna status.
(ii) Listed on Indian stock exchange with minimum prescribed public shareholding under SEBI regulations.
(iii) Average annual turnover of more than Rs. 25,000 crore, during the last 3 years.
(iv) Average annual net worth of more than Rs. 15,000 crore, during the last 3 years.
(v) Average annual net profit after tax of more than Rs. 5,000 crore, during the last 3 years.
(vi) Should have significant global presence/international operations.
Criteria for grant of Navratna status :-
The Miniratna Category – I and Schedule ‘A’ CPSEs, which have obtained ‘excellent’ or ‘very good’ rating under the Memorandum of Understanding system in three of the last five years, and have composite score of 60 or above in the six selected performance parameters, namely,
(i) net profit to net worth,
(ii) manpower cost to total cost of production/services,
(iii) profit before depreciation, interest and taxes to capital employed,
(iv) profit before interest and taxes to turnover,
(v) earning per share and
(vi) inter-sectoral performance.
Criteria for grant of Miniratna status :-
The CPSEs which have made profits in the last three years continuously and have positive net worth are eligible to be considered for grant of Miniratna status .
