The government is likely to confer navratna status to public sector Container Corporation of India (Concor) soon.
The railways ministry has prepared a Cabinet note for the purpose and the proposal which is being actively considered by the department of public enterprise (DPE). The proposal is expected to be taken up by the Cabinet soon.
Concor has a network of more than 57 terminals, offering scheduled and on demand rapid rail and road services between the hinderland and ports, and between major metros. In addition to providing inland transport by rail for containers, it has also expanded its network to cover management of ports, air cargo complexes and establishing cold-chain.
Concor has handled 21,05,266 TEU (twenty foot equivalent unit) during 2006-07 against 19,30,562 TEU in 2005-06.
The navratna status is given to state-run companies that have a good track record in terms of earning profits and productivity.
The navratna club includes the names of PSUs like ONGC, Bhel, MTNL, GAIL, IOC, HPCL, BPCL, NTPC and Sail. In keeping with the promise made in the National Common Minimum Programme (NCMP) that full managerial and commercial autonomy would be devolved to successful profit-making companies operating in a competitive environment, the government has revised and enhanced the powers delegated to the board of directors of Navratna PSEs.
Under the new guidelines, the ceiling on investment to establish financial joint ventures and wholly owned subsidiaries in India or abroad would be 15% of the networth of the navratna PSE with a ceiling of up to Rs 1,000 crore.
The overall ceiling on such investment in all projects put together would be 30% of the networth of the PSE. The board of directors of these PSEs have the powers for mergers and acquisitions, subject to the certain conditions.