State own telecom Operator BSNL will get the desired 'Mahanavaratna' status by Department of Public Enterprises (DPE), Government of India. With the slot of Navratnas getting crowded, the government is considering to classify some of them as `Maha Navratna’ companies based on their performance.
The new classification of Maha-Navratna would give more financial powers and functional autonomy to PSU.
According to the criteria set by Department of Public Enterprises (DPE), BSNL the pubic sector enterprises (PSUs) telecom opeartor could meet the qualifying norm in turnover, profitability and net worth.
Mahanavaratna status would be given by Govt.of India to PSUs who had clocked Rs 30,000 crore or more turnover in the past three years and earned more than Rs 5,000 crore profit after tax in three consecutive years.Also, the Mahanavaratna-eligible PSU should have an average networth of Rs 15,000 crore and global presence, according to the cabinet note circulated by DPE currently another state own telecom operator MTNL is "Navratana" telecom company from 1997.
The Navratna status for PSUs was introduced in 1997 to identify Central Public Sector Enterprises (CPSEs) that had comparative advantages and to support them in their drive to become global giants. The boards of Navratna CPSEs have been entrusted with powers in the areas of investment in joint ventures/subsidiaries, human resources management, mergers & acquisitions, approval of foreign tours of directors etc. Presently there are 18 such Navratna CPSEs in the country.
