♦ The government has approved the upgradation of Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) to 14th Maharatna, Central Public Sector Enterprises. The Finance Ministry announced this on 12 October 2024. This status will give more autonomy to the company in terms of financial and strategic matters.

♦ HAL is a Department of Defence Production, CPSE with an annual turnover of Rs.28,162 crore and a net profit of Rs.7,595 crore in 2023-24.

♦ To qualify for Maharatna status, a company must meet stringent financial criteria: an average turnover exceeding Rs.25,000 crore, an average annual net worth of more than Rs.15,000 crore, and an average annual net profit of over Rs.5,000 crore over the past three years.

♦ The 14 "Maharatna" public sector undertakings (PSUs) in India are: BHEL, BPCL, Coal India, GAIL, HPCL, Indian Oil, NTPC, ONGC, Power Grid, SAIL, Oil India, REC, PFC,  HAL.