IRCTC IRFC Navratna Status Upgrade: The year 2025 is full of surprises. Back in 2024, who might have thought that there would be an IRCTC IRFC Navratna status upgrade in the coming year? Yes, you read it right. For CPSEs (Central Public Sector Enterprises), IRCTC is now the 25th Navratna, and IRFC is currently the 26th. Let’s unleash more details regarding the IRCTC IRFC Navratna Status Upgrade.
About The Companies
IRCTC Overview
Indian Railways’ professional hospitality and travel division, IRCTC, is a Schedule ‘A’ Mini-Ratna listed company under the Ministry of Railways, Government of India. It was established to improve Indian Railways’ catering services and to encourage both domestic and international rail travel. In order to improve, professionalize, and oversee the hospitality and catering services on trains, at stations, and in other locations, as well as to encourage both domestic and foreign travel by creating low-cost hotels, unique tour packages, informational commercial promotional materials, and worldwide reservation systems, IRCTC was established on September 27, 1999, as an extension of Indian Railways.
IRFC Overview
Established on December 12, 1986, IRFC is the specific financing arm of Indian Railways that is responsible for raising capital from both domestic and foreign capital markets. A public sector Navratna enterprise, IRFC is governed administratively by the Indian government’s Ministry of Railways. Additionally, it has Reserve Bank of India (RBI) registrations as an Infrastructure Finance Company (NBFC-IFC) and a Systemically Important Non-Banking Financial Company Non-Deposit Taking (NBFC-ND-SI). IRFC has been instrumental in assisting the growth of Indian Railways and associated companies over the course of its more than three decades of existence by providing funding for a sizeable amount of its yearly plan expenditure.
What is an IRCTC IRFC Navratna Status Upgrade?
In India, Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs) are categorized into three groups according to their market standing and financial performance, namely:
Maharatna,
Navratna,
Miniratna.
Due to their increased autonomy, these firms can invest up to ₹1,000 crore, or 15% of their net value, in a single project without obtaining government approval. They can also invest up to thirty percent of their annual net worth, as long as it stays below ₹1,000 crore. To strengthen their position in the market and improve their operational effectiveness, they can even create foreign subsidiaries, joint ventures, and mergers and acquisitions.
In short, the IRCTC IRFC Navratna status upgrade directly means that now IRCTC and IRFC can increase their activities and more easily venture into new business sectors. Thus, the companies now possess greater autonomy when establishing joint ventures and executing marketing or technology contracts.
How did the stocks react after the IRCTC IRFC Navratna Status Upgrade?
Soon after the IRCTC IRFC Navratna status upgrade, IRCTC’s market capitalization increased to 54,276 crores, and its shares even increased by 0.8% to 3681.50. During the last session, the railway stock fell 435 from its 52-week high of 1,148.30 on May 22, 2024, to its 52-week low of 655.70. Moreover, with a market valuation of 1.5 lakh crore, the price of IRFC shares was trading at 115.10 at 11:15 AM, up 3.5% from the previous closing day. In early trading, the stock hit a high of 115.40. The 52-week high of 229.05 reached on July 15, 2024, has been more than half-corrected by the PSU stock, which fell to a new low of 108.05 on March 3, 2025.
Conclusion
The IRCTC IRFC Navratna Status Upgrade is a big achievement for the respective companies because it will now enable the company to practice its business more effectively in India.
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