PSUs mean public sector units. All public-sector companies come under this category. Meaning, those institutions that are either government-owned enterprises, corporations, or nationalized companies in India are called public sector enterprises, or PSUs (public sector units).
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You can call PSUs (private sector units) as public sector undertakings (PSUs), public sector enterprises (PSEs), central public sector undertakings (CPSEs), and state-level public sector undertakings (SLPSUs).
PSU and PSE are jointly owned by the Indian Government as well as the governments of many states. But Central Public Sector undertakings, i.e., CPSUs and CPSEs, are owned only by the Government of India. That means only the central government can take any decision regarding CPSEs and CPSUs. But state-level public sector undertakings, i.e., SLPSU and SLPSE, are owned only by the state or territory governments.
PSUs are those Indian companies that are jointly run by the central government and the state government. That is, some PSU companies are owned by the central government and some by state-level governments.
PSUs, i.e., public sector units or public sector undertakings, include petroleum companies like Hindustan Petroleum, Bharat Petroleum, Indian Oil Corporation, Coal India in the coal sector, various banks in the banking sector, etc.
PSU is not a company, but you can understand PSUs in such a way that all these groups of companies from different sectors like the petroleum sector, baking sector, etc. are called PSUs. Just like brands like oppo, vivo, realme, oneplus, and iQOO, your favorite phones are owned by only one company, name, or brand, which is the Chinese multinational company BBK Eletronics. This company is the parent company of all these smartphone companies. In the same way, you can also call PSUs the parent companies of companies working in these different sectors.
| A list of some companies coming under PSU |
|---|
| Coal India Limited (CIL) |
| Bharat Heavy Electricals limited (BHEL) |
| NTPC Limited |
| Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) |
| Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL) |
| Bharat Earth Movers Limited (BEML) |
| Hindustan Petroleum (HP) |
| Power Finance Corporation Limited (PFCL) |
| Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) |
| Balmar Lawrie (BL) |
| Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) |
| Gas Authority Of India Limited (GAOIL) |
| SAIL |
| ONGC |
| National Aluminium Corporation Limited (NACL) |
| Engeneers India Limited (EIL) |
| Bharat Dynamics Limited (BDL) |
| Hindustan Copper Limited (HCL) |
| Container Corporation Of India (CCOI) |
| Power Grid Corporation Of India |
| Rural Electrification Corporation (REC) |
| Bharat Sanchar Nigam limited (BSNL) |
| Mahanagar Telephone Nigam limited (MTNL) |
According to Wikipedia, in 1951, there were only 5 PSEs in the public sector in India. As of March 2021, the number of such enterprises had increased to 365, including seven new defense PSUs. These ventures represented a total investment of approximately ₹16.41 lakh crore as of March 31, 2019. Their total paid-up capital as of March 31, 2019 was approximately ₹2.76 lakh crore. CPSEs have earned revenue of approximately ₹25.43 lakh crore during the financial year 2018-19.
As we told you above, some PSU companies are run jointly by the central government and some by the state-level government. Out of which, the PSUs that are jointly run by the Central Government are called Central PSUs.
Public Sector Units (PSUs) can be classified as Central Public Sector Enterprises (CPSEs), Public Sector Banks (PCBs), or State-Level Public Enterprises (SLPEs). That is, we can call PSUs CPSEs, PCBs, and SLPEs because all these are parts of PSUs.
Central PSUs are divided into three parts: Maharatna, Navratna, and Miniratna.
As of October 2021, Maharatna, Navratna, and Miniratna include 11 Maharatna companies, 13 Navratna companies, and 71 Miniratna companies. Miniratna companies are divided into Category 1 and Category 2.
You can see the list of 11 Maharatna and 13 Navratna companies here:
| 11 Maharatna (CPSEs) Companies | 13 Navratan (CPSEs) Companies |
|---|---|
| Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL) | Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) |
| Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL) | Container Corporation Of India |
| Coal India Limited (CIL) | Engineers India Limited (EIL) |
| Gas Authority Of India Limited (GAIL) | Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) |
| Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL) | Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited (MTNL) |
| Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL) | National Aluminium Company |
| National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) | National Building's Constructios Corporation (NBCC) |
| Oil And Natural Gas corporation (ONGC) | National Mineral Development Corporation (NMDC) |
| Power Grid Corporation Of India (PGCIL) | NLC India Limited (Nayveli Lignite) |
| Steel Authority Of India Limited (SAIL) | Oil India Limited (OIL) |
| Power Finance Corporation Limited (PFCL) | Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Limited (RINL) |
| Rural Electrification Corporation (REC) | |
| Shipping Corporation Of India (SCI) |
Miniratna includes 61 companies in Category 1 and 12 companies in Category 2, out of which you can see the list of some selected Miniratna companies in Category 1 and Category 2 here below:
| Miniratna Companies (CPSEs) - Catagory 1 | Miniratna Companies (CPSEs) - Catagory 2 |
|---|---|
| Airport Authority Of India (AAI) | Artificial Limbs Manufacturing Corporation Of India |
| Bharat Coking Coal Limited (BCCL) | Bharat Pumps & Compressors |
| Bharat Dynamic Limited (BDL) | Broadcast Engineering Consultant India Limited |
| Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) | Central Rail Side Warehouse Company Limited |
| Chennai Petroleum Corporation | Engineering Projects India Limited |
| Indian Railway Catering And Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) | FCI Aravali Gypsum And Minerals India Limited |
| North Eastern Electric Power Corporation Limited | HMT India Limited |
| Rail Vikash Nigam Limited (RVNL) | Indian Medicines Pharmaceutical Corporation Of India |
| Telecommunication Consultant India (TCIL) | Mecon |
| National Fertilizers | National Film Dovelopement Corporation Of India (NFDc) |
In Navratna category, companies are slightly smaller than Maharatna companies and in Miniratna, companies are smaller than that.
Like Central PSUs, the companies that provide financial services in the country have been kept in the financial services category of Central PSUs. Such as banks, nationalized insurance companies, and nationalized market exchange companies.
Banks falling under the financial category of central PSUs are divided into two parts: nationalized banks and regional rural banks.
Currently, there are a total of 13 nationalized banks in India. The complete list can be seen below. Along with this, you can also see how many equity shares of these banks are held by the Government of India; that is, how many shares of these banks are held by the Government of India.
| Nationalised Banks | Govt. Share (%) |
|---|---|
| State Bank of India | 56.2% |
| Bank of Baroda | 63.74% |
| Union Bank of India | 86.75% |
| Punjab National Bank | 85.38% |
| Canara Bank | 72.55% |
| Punjab & Sind Bank | 79.62% |
| Indian Bank | 81.73% |
| Bank of Maharashtra | 87.01% |
| Bank of India | 87.0535% |
| Central Bank of India | 88.02% |
| Indian Overseas Bank | 95% |
| UCO Bank | 93.29% |
| Jammu & Kashmir Bank | 63.18% |
Regional rural banks include those banks that mostly cover every area in every state. That is, the work of rural banks is to cover mostly rural areas, which are available in every state. Every facility can easily reach the people. Regional Rural Banks: Every state has its own separate bank. Like the Rajasthan Marudhara Gramin Bank of Rajasthan and the Bihar Gramin Bank of Bihar, etc.
You can see below the names of some banks in different states. Let us tell you that, at present, there are 43 regional rural banks in India. Some states have their own 4–4 rural banks, out of which you can see the name of a rural bank in one state below.
| State | Regional Rural Banks |
|---|---|
| Andhra Pradesh | Andhra Pradesh Gramin Rural Bank |
| Arunachal Pradesh | Arunachal Pradesh Rural Bank |
| Assam | Assam Gramin Vikas Bank |
| Bihar | Uttar Dakshin Bihar Gramin Bank |
| Chattisgarh | Chattisgarh Rajya Gramin Bank |
| Himachal Pradesh | Himachal Pradesh Gramin Bank |
| Jammu & Kashmir | J&K Gramin Bank |
| Karnataka | Karnataka Gramin Bank |
| Punjab | Punjab Gramin Bank |
| Rajasthan | Rajasthan Marudhara Gramin Bank |
| You can see the names of remaining banks from here. | Click Here |
Second in the list of financial services at Central PSU are those companies whose work is related only to insurance. And those companies are nationalized insurance companies. Now, from insurance, it cannot be understood that these companies provide only life insurance and vehicle insurance. Rather, there are different types of companies in the field of insurance whose job it is to provide insurance services for different areas.
At present, there are a total of seven nationalized insurance companies working in the field of insurance. Whose list can you see below?
| Nationalized Insurance Companies |
|---|
| Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) |
| General Insurance Corporation Of India |
| New India Assurance |
| National Insurance Company |
| The Oriental Insurance Company |
| United India Insurance Company |
| Agriculture Insurance Company Of India |
In the third category of financial services in PSU, the work of nationalized market exchange is related to the stock market or the share market. Currently, there are a total of 28 nationalized market exchange companies in India, which also includes the world's 10th largest stock exchange company, the National Stock Exchange of India (NSE). Some of these 28 companies are listed below.
| Nationalized Market Exchange Companies |
|---|
| National Stock Exchange Of India |
| National Stock Exchange |
| Inter-Connected Stock Exchange Of India |
| Metropolitan Stock Exchange |
| Multi Commodity Exchange |
| National Commodity and Derivatives Exchange |
| Bombay Stock Exchange |
| Calcutta Stock Exchange |
| Hyderabad Securities And Enterprises Limited |
| Jaipur Stock Exchange |
| Coimbatore Stock Exchange |
| Uttarpradesh Stock Exchange |
Please note that only those companies fall under the category of PSUs, which are owned by the government and not private companies. Because there is no government interference with private companies.
This question must have come to your mind if PSU companies have covered so much market. And he is working in different sectors all over India. Then why does the government sell these PSU companies?
The government sells those companies from which it is not getting any benefit. Because the main focus of the government is on the profits made by these companies, But if a company is not performing well, that means the government is not getting any benefit from that company; rather, the government is continuously incurring losses from that company.
 Companies? - PSUs, PSE, CPSU, SLPSU In Detail){kind=link}