IRCTC & IRFC becomes 25th and 26th CPSE Navratnas

The government of India has upgraded IRCTC ( Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation Ltd.) and IRFC (Indian Railway Finance Corporation) to Navratna status. Both the IRFC and IRCTC were earlier Schedule 'A' Miniratna  CPSE.

IRCTC becomes the 25th central public sector enterprise (CPSE) to be accorded the status of Navratna while IRFC becomes the 26th CPSE to be accorded the Navratna status .

The Department of Public Enterprises under the Union Ministry of Finance in a social media post on 3rd March 2025 gave this information.

The government of India grants Maharatna, Navratna, and Mini-Ratna status to its profit-making CPSEs to make them more efficient and competitive.

Seventh Railway CPSE to get Navratna Status 

The Union Ministry of Railways has 12 CPSEs. Out of the 12, seven CPSEs - Concor, RVNL, IRCON, RITES, RailTel, IRFC and IRCTC have been given Navratna status.

The first Railway CPSE to get the Navratna status was Concor in 2014.

All the railway CPSEs are profit-making enterprises.

Benefits of being a Navratna Company 

A Navratna CPSE enjoys substantial managerial and financial autonomy.

Some of the benefits are as follows: 

• No need for central government approval for investments up to Rs 1,000 crore or 15% of their net worth in a single project.
• No need for central government approval for entering into technology joint ventures or strategic alliances with other companies.
• They can establish financial joint ventures and wholly owned subsidiaries in India or abroad under certain terms and conditions.

Eligibility Criteria to be a Navratna CPSE

A CPSE has to satisfy the following conditions to get the Navratna status:

• The CPSEs already have Schedule A Miniratna  status,
• A Memorandum of Understanding rating of  ‘excellent’ or ‘very good’ in three of the last five years, 
• At least a composite score of 60 or above in the identified six performance indicators.

List of Navratna CPSEs 

Following is the list of the 26 CPSE that have been accorded Navratna Status.

1. Bharat Electronics Limited 
2. Container Corporation of India Limited 
3. Engineers India Limited
4. Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited 
5. National Aluminium Company Limited 
6. National Buildings Construction Corporation Limited 
7. Neyveli Lignite Corporation Limited 
8. NMDC Limited 
9. Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Limited 
10. Shipping Corporation of India Limited 
11. Rail Vikas Nigam Limited 
12. ONGC Videsh Ltd 
13. Rashtriya Chemicals & Fertilizers Limited
14. IRCON 
15. RITES 
16. National Fertilizers Limited
17. Central Warehousing Corporation 
18. Housing & Urban Development Corporation Limited 
19.  Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency Limited 
20.  Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited 
21.  Railtel Corporation of India Limited 
22. Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) Ltd.
23. NHPC Limited 
24. SJVN Limited
25. IRCTC
26. IRFC

About IRFC 

The Indian Railway Finance Corporation (IRFC) was set up on 12th December 1986. 

It mobilises funds from domestic as well as overseas capital Markets for Railways.

It is registered as Systemically Important Non–Deposit taking Non Banking Financial Company (NBFC – ND-SI) and Infrastructure Finance Company (NBFC- IFC) with Reserve Bank of India (RBI).

CMD and CEO: Manoj Kumar Dubey 

Headquarters: New Delhi 

About IRCTC 

Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation Ltd. (IRCTC) was set up on 27th September 1999. 

Its core functions are:  Catering & Hospitality: Internet Ticketing booking of Railways, Travel & Tourism and Packaged Drinking Water (Rail Neer).

Chairman and Managing Director (CMD): Sanjay Kumar Jain

Headquarters: New Delhi