Which of the following Central Public Sector Enterprises (CPSE) does not fall under the category of 'Maharatna' listed (January, 2020) by the Department of Public Enterprises, Government of India?
- (a)Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited
- (b)Coal India Limited
- (c)Indian Oil Corporation Limited
- (d)Oil India Limited
Correct — D, Oil India Limited. As of January 2020 the Department of Public Enterprises listed ten Maharatna CPSEs — BHEL, BPCL, Coal India, GAIL, HPCL, IOCL, NTPC, ONGC, Power Grid and SAIL. Oil India Limited was then a Navratna, not a Maharatna, so it is the enterprise that does NOT belong to the Maharatna category.
- (a)Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited — BHEL was already a Maharatna (elevated in 2013), so it IS in the category — not the answer to a 'does not fall under' question.
- (b)Coal India Limited — Coal India Limited is a long-standing Maharatna — inside the category, so not the answer.
- (c)Indian Oil Corporation Limited — IOCL is one of the earliest Maharatnas — inside the category, so not the answer.
The Department of Public Enterprises grades large profitable CPSEs into three tiers — Maharatna (apex), Navratna and Miniratna — each giving the board progressively greater financial and investment autonomy. Maharatna is the top tier; the odd one out in this question sat one rung below, at Navratna, in January 2020.
All four are big public-sector energy or engineering firms, so size alone does not decide it. Oil India Ltd 'feels' as large as IOCL or ONGC, but on the January-2020 list it was still a Navratna, not a Maharatna.
- Maharatna is the apex tier of the CPSE classification, above Navratna and Miniratna.
- As of January 2020 there were 10 Maharatnas (the list has since been expanded).
- Maharatna eligibility: already a Navratna; listed with prescribed public shareholding; 3-year average annual turnover above Rs. 25,000 crore, net worth above Rs. 15,000 crore and net profit above Rs. 5,000 crore, plus a significant global presence.
- Oil India Limited was a Navratna in January 2020 — the odd one out here.
- Assuming any very large PSU is automatically a Maharatna — check the exact list and date
- Confusing Oil India Ltd (OIL) with Indian Oil Corporation (IOCL)
As 'which is / is not a Maharatna' or 'match the PSU to its status' — memorise the Maharatna list and the numeric eligibility criteria.
In which year did Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL) get the status of ‘Maharatna’ enterprise?
- (a) 2011
- (b) 2012
- (c) 2013
- (d) 2014
Answer(c) 2013
MPPSC 2021 tests the same Maharatna-classification concept — BHEL (option A here) was elevated to Maharatna status in 2013.
- practice — not a real PYQ
To be eligible for 'Maharatna' status, a CPSE must first hold which status?
- (a)Miniratna Category-I
- (b)Navratna
- (c)Ratna
- (d)No prior status is needed
Answer(b) Navratna — Maharatna eligibility requires the firm to already be a Navratna.
- practice — not a real PYQ
Which body grants 'Maharatna', 'Navratna' and 'Miniratna' status to Central Public Sector Enterprises?
- (a)NITI Aayog
- (b)Reserve Bank of India
- (c)Department of Public Enterprises
- (d)SEBI
Answer(c) Department of Public Enterprises, Government of India.