A state-owned enterprise in India is called a public sector undertaking (PSU) or a public sector enterprise. These companies are owned by the union government of India, or one of the many state or territorial governments, or both. The company stock needs to be majority-owned by the government to be a PSU. PSUs may be classified as Central Public Sector Enterprises (CPSEs), public sector banks (PSBs) or State Level Public Enterprises (SLPEs). CPSEs are administered by the Ministry of Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises.

Various PSUs have been awarded additional financial autonomy. These companies are “public sector companies that have comparative advantages”, giving them greater autonomy to compete in the global market so as to “support [them] in their drive to become global giants”.Financial autonomy was initially awarded to nine PSUs as Navratna status in 1997.Originally, the term Navaratna meant a talisman composed of nine precious gems. Later, this term was adopted in the courts of Gupta emperor Vikramaditya and Mughal emperor Akbar, as the collective name for nine extraordinary courtiers at their respective courts. In 2010, the government established the higher Maharatna category, which raises a company’s investment ceiling from Rs. 1,000 crore to Rs. 5,000 crore.The Maharatna firms can now decide on investments of up to 15 per cent of their net worth in a project while the Navaratna companies could invest up to Rs 1,000 crore without explicit government approval. Two categories of “Miniratnas” afford less extensive financial autonomy.