Which of the following public enterprises brought into existence by a Special Act of the Parliament?

Statutory corporation

The correct answer is option 1- Statutory corporation.

Statutory corporations are public enterprises brought into existence by a Special Act of the Parliament. The Act defines its powers and functions, rules and regulations governing its employees and its relationship with government departments. This is a corporate body created by the legislature with defined powers and functions and is financially independent with a clear control over a specified area or a particular type of commercial activity. It is a corporate person and has the capacity of acting in its own name. Statutory corporations therefore have the power of the government and considerable amount of operating flexibility of private enterprises.

OTHER OPTIONS-

• Government company: A Government company means any company in which not less than 51 percent of the paid up capital is held by the central government, or by any state governments or government or partly by central government and partly by one or more state governments and includes a company which is a subsidiary company of such a government company.

• Departmental undertaking: Departmental undertaking is the oldest and most traditional form of organising public enterprises. These enterprises are established as departments of the ministry and are considered part or an extension of the ministry itself. The Government functions through these departments and the activities performed by them are an integral part of the functioning of the government.

• Private Company: A private company is a business entity that is owned and operated by private individuals or a small group of investors. Unlike public companies, private companies do not offer shares of stock to the general public and are not traded on stock exchanges.