Maharatna & Navratna Companies of India/English
Maharatna & Navratna Companies of India/English
Among the central public sector enterprises in India, Maharatna is the highest status, followed by Navratna. The concept of Maharatna was introduced in 2010. Currently, in 2026, there are a total of 14 Maharatna and 26 Navratna companies in India. In the list of Maharatna & Navratna Companies of India/English, HAL is the latest 14th Maharatna company along with ONGC, NTPC, SAIL, IOCL, and Coal India.
Maharatna & Navratna Companies of India/English
In India, Maharatna is the highest status among the central government companies. This status is given to those who are economically strongest, largest and contribute the most to the country’s economy. The Maharatna concept was introduced by the Government of India in 2010. In the first year, four companies became Maharatnas – ONGC, NTPC, SAIL and IOCL.
Currently, there are a total of 14 Maharatna companies in India as of 2026. The last Maharatna was Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), in October 2024.
The 14 Maharatna companies are:
India’s largest power generation company NTPC was established in 1975. The country’s largest oil and gas extraction company ONGC was established in 1956. India’s largest steel manufacturing company SAIL was established in 1954. India’s largest oil refining and marketing company Indian Oil Corporation (IOCL) was established in 1959.
Maharatna & Navratna Companies of India/English
The world’s largest coal producer Coal India Limited was established in 1975 and became a Maharatna in 2011. The heavy electrical equipment manufacturer BHEL was established in 1964 and became a Maharatna in 2013. The natural gas transportation and distribution company GAIL was established in 1984.
The two major companies in the petroleum sector are BPCL and HPCL. BPCL originally started as Burmah Shell in 1952 and was nationalized in 1976, it became a Maharatna in 2017. HPCL was established in 1974 and became a Maharatna in 2019. For electricity transmission, Power Grid Corporation was established in 1989 and became a Maharatna in 2019.
There are two companies as financial investment companies – Power Finance Corporation (PFC) was established in 1986 and REC Limited was established in 1969. They became Maharatnas in 2021 and 2022. Another company in the oil sector Oil India Limited was established in 1959 and became Maharatnas in 2023.
Maharatna & Navratna Companies of India/English
The latest company is the defense sector HAL – Hindustan Aeronautics Limited, which was established in 1940 in Bengaluru and manufactures fighter aircraft and helicopters. It became the 14th Maharatnas in 2024.
The special power of Maharatnas is that they can invest up to 15% of their net worth, up to a maximum of Rs 5000 crore, in any project without the permission of the government and can also invest abroad.
Navaratna is the next step below Maharatna. This scheme was launched by the Government of India in 1997. Government companies that perform better than Miniratna become Navratna. If they become Navratna, a company can invest up to Rs 1000 crore on its own.
Currently, there are a total of 26 Navratna companies in India as of 2026. The last two Navratna companies were on March 3, 2025 – IRCTC and IRFC.
Maharatna & Navratna Companies of India/English
The 26 Navratna companies are:
In the electronics sector, Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) was established in 1954 in Bengaluru. In the logistics sector, CONCOR was established in 1988 in New Delhi. In the engineering consultancy sector, Engineers India Limited (EIL) was established in 1965.
In the telecom sector, MTNL was created in 1986 for Delhi and Mumbai. NALCO, an aluminium producer, was established in Bhubaneswar in 1981. NBCC, a construction company, was established in 1960. NLC India, a lignite coal producer, was established in Chennai in 1956.
NMDC, a mineral producer, was established in Hyderabad in 1958. Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Limited (RINL), a steel company, was established in Visakhapatnam in 1982. Shipping Corporation of India (SCI), a shipping company, was established in Mumbai in 1961.
There are 6 Navratnas associated with railways. Rail Vikas Nigam Limited (RVNL) was established in 2003, IRCON in 1976, RITES in 1974, RailTel in 2000, IRCTC in 1999 and IRFC in 1986. Among them, RVNL builds railway lines, IRCTC provides tickets and food, IRFC raises money for railways.
ONGC Videsh was established in 1965 to look after foreign business in oil and gas. There are two companies in fertilizer production – RCF was established in 1978 in Mumbai and National Fertilizers Limited was established in 1974 in Noida.
Central Warehousing Corporation was established in 1957 for warehousing. HUDCO was established in 1970 for housing finance. There are two important companies for renewable energy – IREDA was established in 1987 and SECI was established in 2011.
Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders is the oldest, established in 1934 in Mumbai, where naval warships are built. There are two companies involved in hydroelectric power generation – NHPC established in 1975 in Faridabad and SJVN established in 1988 in Shimla.
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