Navratnas

:"See Navaratna for the talisman, set of stones and gems.":"See Nine Gems for the well-known navratnas of Akbar and Vikramaditya's courts."

Navratnas are the status given originally nine Public Sector Enterprisesor PSE, identified by the Government of India in 1997 as its crown jewels or the most prestigious PSEs, which allowed them greater autonomy to compete in the global market [ [http://dpe.nic.in/nm1.htm Original Govt. announcement about the Navratnas 1997] ] . The number of PSEs having navratna status has now been raised to 17, the most recent addition being Shipping Corporation of India.

Criterion of selection

Navratna status is conferred by Department of Public Enterprises. To be qualified as a Navratna, the company must obtain a score of 60(of the total 100).The score is based on six parameters which include net profit to net worth,total manpower cost to total cost of production or cost of services,PBDIT(Profit Before Depreciation,Interest and Taxes)to capital employed,PBDIT to turnover,EPS(Earning Per Share) and inter-sectoral performance. Additionally,a company must first be a miniratna and must have four independent directors on its board before it can be made a Navaratna [ [http://dpe.nic.in/navmini.htm Official guidelines for Navratnas and Miniratnas] ] .

ignificance

The 'Navaratna' status offers a company enhanced financial and operational autonomy and empowers it to invest up to Rs. 1000 cr or 15% of their net worth on a single project without seeking government approval. In a year, these companies can spend up to 30% of their net worth not exceeding Rs. 1000 cr. They will also have the freedom to enter joint ventures, form alliances and float subsidiaries abroad.

Miniratnas

In addition, the Government created another category called Miniratna. Miniratna can also enter into joint ventures, set subsidiary companies and overseas offices but with certain conditions. In 2002, there were 41 government enterprises that were awarded Miniratna status.

Four more PSUs - NALCO, NMDC, Power Grid Corporation and REC - would also be given Navratna status as soon as they fill all the vacancies for independent directors.NMDC has been turned into Navratna by the Government of India in march 2008.

Category I miniratna

This designation applies to PSEs that have made profits continuously for the last three years or earned a net profit of Rs 30 crores or more in one of the three years. these miniratnas granted certain autonomy like incurring capital expenditure without government approval up to Rs. 300 crores or equal totheir networth, whichever is lower.

Category II miniratna

This category include those PSEs which have made profits for the last three years continuously and should have a positive networth. Category I miniratnas have autonomy to incurring the capital expenditure without government approval up to Rs. 300 crores or up to 50% of their networth whichever is lower.

History

Originally Navaratna is talisman or an ornament comprising if nine precious gems. Later, this symbology was adopted in the courts of the ancient king Vikramaditya and the Mughal emperor Akbar, where the Navaratnas were a group of nine extraordinary people in a king's court.

The Navratnas List

The original list of 1997 included BHEL, BPCL, HPCL, IOC, IPCL, NTPC, ONGC, SAIL and VSNL, of which IPCL and Videsh Sanchar Nigam Ltd (VSNL) were later privatised. (GAIL) and (MTNL joined the list in November 1997 [ [http://dpe.nic.in/nm9.htm Addition to Navratna November 1997] ] . Later in June 22, 2007 the government awarded the coveted status to three more PSUs, viz. BEL, HAL and Power Finance Corporation (PFC).

The present 16 incumbents of this group as on 5.5.2008 [ [http://dpe.nic.in/newsite/navmini.htm Official List of Navratnas and miniratnas] ] are:

Main members

* Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL)
* Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL)
* National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC)
* Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Limited (ONGC)
* Gas Authority of India Limited (GAIL)
* Indian Oil Corporation (IOC)
* Bharat Petroleum (BPCL)
* Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd. (MTNL)
* Hindustan Petroleum (HPCL)
* Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL)
*Hindustan Aeronautics Limited ( HAL)
*Power Finance Corporation (PFC)
*National Mineral Development Corporation Limited ( [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Mineral_Development_Corporation NMDC] )

New members

*Power Grid Corporation of India Limited (POWERGRID)
*Rural Electrification Commission(REC)
*National Aluminium Company Limited (NALCO)
*Shipping Corporation of India

References

External links

* [http://dpe.nic.in/newsite/navmini.htm Official List of Navratnas]