What is a government stock?
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Government stocks represent companies in which the Central Government or a State Government has at least a 51% stake.
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Government stocks belong to those companies in which the government has at least a 51% stake. Being a majority shareholder, the government influences the important decisions taken by such companies.
It has the right to appoint or remove directors on the board of such companies. These entities are also called public sector undertakings (PSUs) or public sector enterprises (PSEs).
Some of the leading PSUs in India include State Bank of India, Life Insurance Corporation of India, Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Limited, Coal India, NTPC, Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC), etc.
Many government-owned companies are leaders in their respective industries. Some of them even enjoy the status of a monopoly. All PSUs provide essential products or services to the people of India, like finance, coal, insurance, energy, etc.
Besides, as the Indian economy is expected to grow significantly, these companies are likely to grow as well at a high rate.
There are a number of government-owned companies in India in a wide range of sectors, such as banking, insurance, defence, power, coal, shipyards, etc. In such companies, either the Central Government or a State Government owns at least a 51% stake.
Most such companies provide products or services that are essential for the people of India. Hence, these enterprises are important from the viewpoint of business and also for the welfare of Indian society.
Besides, the Government set up these companies decades ago when not many private companies had capital or know-how to invest in them. Read this blog, as it provides a government stocks list and explains the key features of such companies.
The leading government stocks in India in 2024 as per market capitalization are provided in the table below. These companies are from a diverse range of sectors, like banking, insurance, energy, defence, oil, etc.
Company Name | Market Cap (₹ Crore) |
7,70,105 | |
6,00,622 | |
3,55,916 | |
3,21,300 | |
3,08,773 | |
3,03,153 | |
2,54,490 | |
2,30,295 | |
2,04,391 | |
2,01,651 |
Government stocks represent those companies that are owned or controlled by either the Central Government or State Governments. Such companies are also called public sector undertakings (PSUs). In the banking sector, there are many banks that are owned by the government. They are known as public sector banks (PSBs).
But, what is the meaning of government ownership in this context? When the government owns at least a 51% stake in a company, it is called a government-owned company. In such companies, the government is the majority shareholder. Hence, it influences the important decisions taken by such companies.
Being a majority shareholder, the government has the right to appoint or remove directors on the board of such companies. Meanwhile, the companies in which the government has less than 50% stake are not called government companies because the government is not a majority shareholder in them.
1. ONGC Ltd: Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Limited (ONGC) is the largest oil and gas exploration and production company in India. The government owns the majority stake in ONGC. Its major activities involve exploring, developing, and producing crude oil and natural gas. Apart from that, it also refines, markets, and distributes petroleum products.
2. NTPC Ltd: NTPC Ltd is the largest state-owned electricity generating company in India. It operates a number of thermal, hydro, and renewable power plants across the country. It plays a key role in supplying sustainable power, which is essential for the economic growth of India. While NTPC is a leader in thermal power, it is also increasing its renewable energy capacity to reduce its carbon footprint.
3. Bharat Petroleum Corp Ltd (BPCL): BPCL is a prominent oil and gas company in India that is government-owned. It refines, markets, and distributes petroleum products. It has several retail outlets under the brand name of “Bharat Petroleum” for selling petroleum products. Besides, it also distributes LPG across India. In addition, it manufactures a range of fuels, lubricants, and petrochemicals.
4. Bharat Electronics Ltd: Bharat Electronics Limited has expertise in defence and aerospace technologies, as it designs and manufactures a variety of products, like radar systems, electronic warfare systems, communication equipment, and missile defence systems. The company plays an important role in fulfilling India’s defence and security needs.
5. Coal India Ltd: Coal India is the largest coal producer in India and the entire world. Its primary activities include mining, production, and sale of coal in India. It is a state-owned company that provides coal to many industries, like steel, power, cement, etc. Coal India operates several coalfields that are important from the perspective of India’s energy requirements.
6. Power Grid Corp of India Ltd: Power Grid Corp of India is a famous government company that transmits power all across the country. It is responsible for reliably and efficiently transmitting power, which is important for India’s growing power requirements. Apart from that, Power Grid is also involved in projects related to telecommunications and renewable energy.
7. Power Finance Corp: This is another leading government company, which provides finance to the power sector. It provides loans and other kinds of financial assistance for power generation, transmission, and distribution. Apart from that, it also promotes green energy initiatives.
8. Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL): This is a famous state-owned aerospace and defence company in India, with expertise in designing and developing aircraft, helicopters, fighter jets, transport aircraft, avionics, and related products. Besides, it is also involved in research and development of aviation technologies.
9. Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC): IRCTC is a government-owned company, which provides several key services in the railway sector, like catering, online ticketing, etc. Most importantly, it operates the online platform of the Indian Railways, which is used for train reservations by millions of people every day. Besides, it manages luxury trains, which promote tourism in India.
10. Indian Railway Finance Corp (IRFC): This is another important PSU in the railways sector. IRFC raises funds which help Indian Railways in infrastructure development, such as track development, purchase of rolling stock, and modernizing railway operations.
Having discussed government stocks list, let us understand their key features.
The most important features of Indian government stocks are explained below:
Industry Leadership: Many government companies are leaders in their respective sectors. For example, NTPC is a leading company in the power generation industry. Coal India is the largest producer of coal in India and the whole world. Some of these companies also enjoy a monopoly status in their industry.
Stability: Most government-owned companies are huge in terms of their size and operations. Besides, they are backed by the government. For example, if SBI needs capital, the government (being its majority shareholder) can provide it with more capital. Such factors provide stability to the business of state-owned companies.
Essential Products & Services: All government-owned companies provide essential products and services to consumers in India. When these companies were set up decades ago, the private sector was at a nascent stage. Hence, private companies could not invest in sectors, like oil, power, and defence. Therefore, the government stepped in to set up these companies.
Long-Term Growth Potential: The Indian economy is set to grow at a high rate. Hence, state-owned companies are also expected to grow significantly. As the economy grows, the demand for products and services manufactured by these companies will also grow.
Now that you know the key features of government stocks, let us discuss how to invest in them.
If you want to invest in leading government stocks, you should follow these steps:
Research government stocks thoroughly: By now, you would have understood that government-owned companies operate in diverse sectors. For example, NTPC is into power generation. SBI is into banking, while LIC is into providing life insurance to people. These businesses are extremely different from each other. Hence, before investing in government stocks, you should analyse them thoroughly.
Understand government policies: When investing in government stocks, you should know how government policies relevant to their sector affect them. For example, if you want to invest in Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd, you should know how the aerospace and defence policies of the Indian Government affect its business.
Analyse the financials: You have to analyse the financial statements of such companies (profit & loss account, balance sheet, and cash flow statement) before investing in them. You should check whether these companies are able to grow their sales and profit and whether they are able to generate free cash flows sustainably.
Open a demat account: To invest in government stocks, you should have a demat account. Hence, you should carefully analyse the charges and services of many brokers to decide with whom you will open a demat account.
If you have a trading account and participate in the Indian stock market, you should track government stocks because they can provide you with investment opportunities. More importantly, such stocks represent companies, which are from a variety of sectors, like banking, defence, coal, railways, etc. Hence, you can diversify your portfolio by investing in multiple government stocks. Therefore, you should maintain a government stocks list and keep a track of their prices to spot investment opportunities.
Disclaimer: Investments in the securities market are subject to market risk, read all related documents carefully before investing.
This content is for educational purposes only. Securities quoted are exemplary and not recommendatory.
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Government stocks represent companies in which the Central Government or a State Government has at least a 51% stake.
Government stocks belong to companies from diverse sectors. For example, SBI is into banking, while Coal India is into the production of coal. Hence, it is tough to say whether it is good to invest in government stocks in general.
You need to check various factors like liquidity and volatility in price & volume to find the best government stock. That said, you must also keep in mind that one trader may like a certain government stock and another trader may like some other stock.
As the Indian economy is expected to grow at a high rate, the business of government-owned companies like NTPC, SBI, Bharat Electronics, LIC, Hindustan Aeronautics, etc. is also likely to expand significantly. Hence, the future of government stocks seems to be bright.
As discussed, government stocks belong to companies from diverse industries. Hence, what is a good time to invest in one of them may not be a good time to invest in another. Therefore, you should do your research before investing in a government stock by analysing its business performance and valuations.
At times, the size and the scale of a government company can become so large that it makes it difficult to grow and a bit complex to run. Besides, like other stocks, the price of government stocks can also be volatile without any fundamental reason.
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