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On January 19 this year, Bharat Coking Coal Limited (BCCL), India’s largest shaper of coking ember and a subsidiary of Coal India Limited listed connected the banal marketplace through an Initial Public Offering (IPO). Despite challenging planetary marketplace conditions, the BCCL IPO created superior marketplace past arsenic the highest ever recorded successful India’s mainboard IPO market. The 46 crore shares that were connected connection to rise an additional ₹1,070 crore received implicit 90 lakh applications and were oversubscribed 147 times. This palmy IPO listing of an Indian Public Sector Enterprise (PSE) is not one-off but a inclination that has been accordant implicit the past respective years. Over the past 7-8 years, adjacent to 15 Public Sector Undertakings person been listed successful the Indian stock exchanges and person not lone been capable to rise the required wealth but besides make a tremendous magnitude of shareholder worth and retailer wealth.
Shareholder worth creation
Prior to BCCL, since 2017, India has seen much than 10 ample halfway engineering-, construction-, railways-, defence-, and energy-related PSEs get listed successful the banal markets. They person consistently created worth for some retail shareholders and the largest proprietor of PSE stocks — the Government of India. Among the companies analysed, the cumulative market capitalisation rose from ₹1.4 lakh crore at listing to ₹8.53 lakh crore as connected December 31, 2025 — a whopping 513% increase.
The companies analysed were Cochin Shipyard, Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders, RITES Ltd., IRCON International, Rail Vikas Nigam Ltd., Indian Railway Finance Corporation, Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation, RailTel Corporation, Housing and Urban Development Corporation, Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL), and Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency.
Also work | Coal India limb Bharat Coking Coal IPO subscribed 146.81 times connected last time of bidding
While the survey excluded services assemblage IPOs specified arsenic banking and security whose performances are driven by additional extraneous factors, the Government has besides benefited tremendously from the listing of services-related PSEs.
In summary, the IPO way has not only provided Indian PSEs robust mechanisms to rise superior for productive usage without depending connected the Government’s fund process but besides supply phenomenal returns to the Government and to its retail shareholders.
PSUs backing India’s strategical initiatives
Earlier, Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs) had to trust connected budgetary provisions from their administrative Ministries for superior investments and different expansions. This required extended discussions with a ample radical of stakeholders and a longer rhythm for realising the money. In today’s property when the modern endeavor is recognised for its agility successful decision-making and execution, the fund way tin nary longer beryllium looked at as the lone mean for raising oregon receiving investments.
Not surprisingly, a reverse inclination has softly begun to instrumentality signifier wherever PSUs person started to money captious missions. For example, successful January 2025, the Ministry of Mines launched the National Critical Mineral Mission (NCMM) to unafraid a semipermanent sustainable proviso of captious minerals and fortify India’s captious mineral worth chain. The Cabinet approved an expenditure of ₹34,300 crore for NCMM of which lone ₹1,500 crore is being sourced from the Government‘s budget. In a genuinely ‘Whole of Government Approach’, more than 50% of the Mission‘s expenditure, an magnitude of ₹18,000 crore, is being funded by PSUs crossed assorted administrative Ministries that see KABIL (Mines Ministry), Coal India Ltd. and Neyveli Lignite Corporation India Ltd. (Ministry of Coal), Steel Authority of India and National Mineral Development Corporation (Steel Ministry), NTPC Mining Ltd (Power Ministry), and Oil India and ONGC Videsh Ltd (Petroleum and Natural gas). Quite aptly, the investments being raised by these PSEs are being plowed into technologies and know-how that are being utilized to reduce coal-based carbon emissions.
The supra illustration whitethorn present go the norm in the Government’s funding of critical and strategical missions in which the PSEs are tapped successful arsenic strategical investors arsenic seen successful the NCMM.
Markets arsenic a catalyst for PSU scrutiny and administrative quality
Markets are known to beryllium remarkably brutal and unforgiving arsenic they lone reward accordant show and shareholder worth creation. One of the astir striking elements of the BCCL communicative is its travel from being perceived arsenic a loss-impacted PSU to a value-driven, strategically captious enterprise. Today, BCCL accounts for nearly 58.5% of India’s home coking ember production, placing it astatine the bosom of the alloy and infrastructure worth chain. This strategical relevance was not mislaid connected investors. In an system focused connected infrastructure expansion, manufacturing growth, and self-reliance, BCCL represents more than a ember producer; it represents energy information and concern continuity.
The occurrence of BCCL should not beryllium seen arsenic a one-off anomaly. The show of different PSEs is testimonial to a broader displacement successful however PSE assets are being positioned and perceived. Investors contiguous are progressively discerning and are consenting to backmost PSEs erstwhile they spot clarity of purpose, operational strength, and credible execution. PSEs have also utilized the caller autonomy granted from their administrative Ministries and the transparency expected from the reporting model of marketplace exchanges arsenic an accidental to bring successful administrative quality, strategic planning and velocity successful execution. This renewed assurance is already shaping the adjacent signifier of PSE marketplace information arsenic much IPOs are being planned. The aged communicative that PSE IPOs are uninspiring has been enactment to rest, and successful its spot stands a almighty new reality — erstwhile the communicative is real, the markets listen.
Prof. S. Mahendra Dev is presently Chairman, Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister, EAC-PM
