Given below are two statements: one is labelled as Assertion (A) and the other is labelled as Reason (R).
Assertion (A): The granting of maharatna, navratna and miniratna status resulted in better performance of these public sector enterprises.
Reason (R): The government has now decided to sell the maharatna, navratna and miniratna companies outright to the private sector.
Choose the correct answer from the options given below:
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 3
The correct answer is Option (3) → (A) is true but (R) is false.
The special status gave these companies more freedom, and they did better. The government now wants to keep them in the public sector.
Assertion (A): The granting of maharatna, navratna and miniratna status resulted in better performance of these public sector enterprises. — True. The status gave them greater financial, managerial and operational autonomy. This resulted in better performance.
Reason (R): The government has now decided to sell the maharatna, navratna and miniratna companies outright to the private sector. — False. The government has decided to retain them in the public sector. It wants them to expand in global markets and raise resources by themselves from financial markets. Scholars do say that the government partly privatised them through disinvestment, but an outright sale is not the policy.
NCERT (2026-27): “Box 3.1: Navratnas and Public Enterprise Policies … In order to improve efficiency, infuse professionalism and enable them to compete more effectively in the liberalised global environment, the government identifies PSEs and declare them as maharatnas, navratnas and miniratnas. They were given greater financial, managerial and operational autonomy, in taking various decisions to run the company efficiently and thus increase their profits. …” “Box 3.1: Navratnas and Public Enterprise Policies … The granting of status resulted in better performance of these companies. Scholars allege that instead of facilitating public enterprises in their expansion and enabling them to become global players, the government partly privatised them through disinvesment. Of late, the government has decided to retain them in the public sector and enable them to expand themselves in the global markets and raise resources by themselves from financial markets.” |