There is good news for the Indian Railways as two Public Sector Units (PSUs) affiliated to Ministry of Railways — Indian Railways Catering & Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) and Indian Railway Finance Corporation (IRFC) – are all set to get Navratna status. They presently have Miniratna status. This change in status is likely to be announced this week, highly placed sources revealed.
The government is reported to have assessed their strength before giving them the new status.
Under the Navratna plan, launched in 1997, government-owned enterprises (CPSEs) with outstanding financial and market performance are selected for this status to give them more financial and operational freedom and enable them to make faster decisions.
Navratna status brings big dividends ensuring greater autonomy, more room for investments without government approval, and an opportunity to form joint ventures or alliances and set up overseas subsidiaries.
Apart from it, these PSUs can invest up to 30% of their net worth in a year, with a cap of Rs 1,000 crore, and assign investments of up to Rs 1,000 crore to projects without government approvals.
