About PSUs

1. What are PSUs?

Any government-owned enterprise can be referred to as a public sector undertaking (PSU) or a public sector enterprise. These enterprises are owned either wholly or partly by the government of India or one of the many states or territorial governments or both.

PSUs have brought a major change in economic growth as they have provided various job opportunities for many individuals. The public sector aims to increase exports, and they have been investing in technologies, automated equipment, and instruments, aiming to reduce the imports.

2. Why opt PSU Jobs?

Many candidates prefer PSU jobs as they provide a secured future with average to high income packages. You can choose a career in PSUs either on a technical or non-technical basis.

Candidates from technical backgrounds can apply to technical service companies like BSNL, BHEL, SAIL, etc. All these companies provide retirement packages and raised incentives based on your performance.

As PSUs offer postings in remote locations, people can stay wherever they reside without changing locations. Displaying a PSU work experience can also add more value to your business school interviews.

3. Classification of PSUs

Public Sector Undertaking is broadly classified into State Level Public Enterprises (SLPEs), Central Public Sector Enterprises (CPSEs), and Public Sector Banks (PSBs). Let's see them in detail below.

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3.1 Maharatna CPSEs

To acquire the maharatna status, the organization must yield an average turnover of Rs.20,000 crores during the last three years. They should hold a navaratna status, and hence the navaratna can be promoted to maharatna companies.

• Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited
• Coal India Limited
• GAIL (India) Limited
• Indian Oil Corporation Limited
• NTPC Limited
• Oil & Natural Gas Corporation Limited
• Steel Authority of India Limited
• And more

3.2 Navaratna CPSEs

The primary requirement for getting a navaratna status is that the company must hold the status of miniratna category 1 along with some independent directors at the miniratna level. The company can invest up to Rs.1,000 crores without any apprehension from the government.

Here are some Navaratna CPSEs

• Bharat Electronics Limited
• Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited
• Container Corporation of India Limited
• Engineers India Limited
• Hindustan Aeronautics Limited
• Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited
• Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited
• National Aluminium Company Limited
• National Buildings Construction Corporation Limited
• NMDC Limited

3.3 Miniratna CPSEs

This was formed by the Ministry of India and is further divided into two categories.

Miniratna Category 1

To obtain this category, the company must have produced valuable profits during the last three years. With this status, they can enter joint ventures or set either subsidiary or overseas companies.

Below are some from the list of Miniratna Category 1 CPSEs

• Airports Authority of India
• Antrix Corporation Limited
• Balmer Lawrie & Co. Limited
• Bharat Coking Coal Limited
• Bharat Dynamics Limited
• BEML Limited
• Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited
• Bridge & Roof Company (India) Limited
• Central Warehousing Corporation
• Central Coalfields Limited

Miniratna Category 2

The company belonging to this category has a capital expenditure of up to Rs.300 crores or 50% of their net worth without seeking any approval from the higher directory.

A few of the Miniratna Category 2 CPSEs are listed here:

• FCI Aravali Gypsum & Minerals India Limited
• Ferro Scrap Nigam Limited
• HMT (International) Limited
• HSCC (India) Limited
• India Trade Promotion Organization
• Indian Medicines & Pharmaceuticals Corporation Limited
• M E C O N Limited
• Mineral Exploration Corporation Limited
• National Film Development Corporation Limited

4. Getting a PSU job through GATE Exam

Although the initial requirements for getting a PSU job didn't include passing the GATE exam, in 2012, the eligibility criteria included having a good score in GATE Exam. This helped the PSUs analyze the candidates better even before they appeared for PSU exams.

People can also get PSU job without GATE scores, but the options are very limited. As most companies shortlist candidates through GATE, the possibility of getting a PSU job without GATE is not very encouraging. You need to be familiar with the exam pattern and eligibility criteria that these PSUs consider.

Want to know more about the PSU direct recruitment process, exam pattern, eligibility criteria and more? Keep reading to know more.

5. PSUs Exam Pattern

If the candidates don't want to appear for the GATE Exam, they must take the PSUs entrance exam. The following comprises the most common PSU exam pattern:

• Technical Knowledge
• General English
• General Aptitude & Reasoning
• General Knowledge & Current Affairs

The technical section of the exam includes 120 questions, and the aptitude part has 50 questions. Both technical and aptitude questions carry 0.25 negative marks. The technical questions will be from the main stream that the candidates preferred; this can be Electrical Engineering, Electronics and Communication, Mechanical Engineering, etc.

Read detailed information about PSU Exam Pattern here

6. Eligibility Criteria

Academic Qualification: Bachelor's degree holder in technology/ Engineering/ architecture/ post diploma/ master's or a final year student. Some even prefer candidates with a master's degree.

Marks: Most PSUs recruit candidates with at least 60% of academic marks.

GATE and PSUs: A large number of public sectors prefer candidates with a good GATE score. If not through GATE Exam, then the candidates need to clear the recruitment tests conducted by the respective PSUs.

Age limit: 21 to 40 years depending on the enterprises you are selecting.

7. Roles and Responsibilities of PSU jobs

Most roles of PSUs include executive posts and recruited employees will be responsible for tasks handled over by senior officials. Employees will begin their PSU journey as a trainee and will serve a mandatory probation period of 6 months-1 year. Some recruits may be asked to sign service bonds that bind them to respective PSU for a period of 2-3 years.

Some of the PSU roles include:

• Junior Engineer
• Engineering Executive Trainee
• Assistant Executive Trainee
• Engineering Trainee
• Systems Officer
• Accounts Officer
• Medical Laboratory Officer
• Research Officer
• And more!