CIL well in line for ‘maharatna’ status
07 Feb 2011
State-owned Coal India Ltd is likely to be conferred the 'maharatna' status by the end of the month, which will give the company more financial autonomy.
CIL, the world's largest coalminer with a turnover of Rs52,000 crore in 2009-10, will be the fifth PSU to qualify for the category, which gives a state-owned firm more financial autonomy from government control.
At present, there are four PSUs with Maharatna status – Oil and Natural Gas Corp, National Thermal Power Corp, Indian Oil Corp, and steel maker SAIL Ltd.
"The coal ministry has forwarded the proposal to the department of public enterprises," the department's secretary Bhaskar Chatterjee told PTI on Saturday.
CIL fulfils all the parameters to qualify for the status. The DPE hopes to finish it (awarding the status and issuing the formal order) before the end of this month, he added.
A company needs to have a three-year track record of annual net profit of over Rs5,000 crore, a net worth of more than Rs15,000 crore and a turnover of more than Rs25,000 crore, besides being listed on stock exchanges, to be eligible for maharatna status. CIL has reported a profit of over Rs5,000 crore for the past three years in a row.
