Seven more public sector cos to get Navratna status

NEW DELHI: A High-Level government panel has admitted seven more public sector firms, including Hindustan Aeronautics and Nalco, into the coveted Navratna club, taking its membership to 16. While nine companies were in the fray, the apex committee headed by cabinet secretary BK Chaturvedi cleared seven names last week, sources said. Now, only the respective ministers have to sign the necessary documents, they said.

Other companies who have been conferred the status are Bharat Electronics, National Mineral Development Corporation, Rural Electrification Corporation, Power Grid Corporation and Power Finance Corporation.

They join the league of nine companies — Bhel, NTPC, SAIL, BPCL, HPCL, Gail, ONGC, IOC and MTNL. The Navratna status would greatly enhance the financial and administrative powers of boards of these seven PSEs. They will be able to forge JVs and wholly owned subsidiaries in India or abroad up to 15% of their net worth in one project limited to Rs 1,000 crore.

The board of directors of these PSEs would also have the powers for M&As and the limit to which the boards can approve capital expenditure would be removed. Apart from the cabinet secretary, the apex committee also includes representatives from the Planning Commission, finance ministry and the ministry under which the PSU functions.

Before going to the apex committee, the claims of these PSUs was reviewed by the inter-ministerial committee. BSNL, another contender for the status, has missed out because of a technicality and the apex committee has kept its case alive, the sources said.

For getting Navratna status, a central public sector company has to record good financial performance for three years in a row on the list of parameters laid down in the memorandum of understanding (MoU) it signs with its administrative ministry.

BSNL has signed an MoU for just two years before making its claim. With the current financial year coming to a close, BSNL can again push its case as it would have completed the mandatory three years of signing an MoU.

The claim of Shipping Corporation of India, which was also in the fray, was withdrawn by the administrative ministry earlier this year.