1 Time’s Journey/ ISSN : 2278-6546 Vol. 3, No. 1/ November 2014 Sumit Kumar Maji & Dr Debasish Sur VALUE GENERATING CAPABILITY OF NTPC LTD. IN THE PRE- AND POST- LIBERALIZATION PERIODS: A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS Sumit Kumar Maji* Dr. Debasish Sur** [The existence of Public Enterprises in the Indian economy is of paramount significance in order to realize the true economic goals of sustainable growth. Being a highly regulated sector, the power sector in India has been traditionally dominated by public sector companies under the Central Government as well as individual State Governments. NTPC Ltd. is playing an ever-increasing vital role in generating power and contributing to the Indian economy in many ways. Understanding the importance of such a ‘Maharatna’ company and its phenomenal performance, it is highly important to look into its financial performance both in the pre-liberalisation and post-liberalisation periods. In the present paper, a modest attempt was made to analyse the value generating capability of NTPC Ltd and to identify its determinants using the data from 1983-84 to 2012-13. The results obtained from the study revealed a significant improvement in the value generating capability of NTPC Ltd. during the post-liberalization period as compared to the pre-liberalization period. In fact, the company was able to adapt itself efficiently to withstand the turbulent conditions during the post-liberalization period. Key words: Public Enterprise, Pre-liberalisation and Post-liberalization periods, Maharatna Company.] 1. Backdrop The importance of public enterprise (PEs) in the Indian economy can never be overemphasised. They have always played a dominant role in shaping the path of the country’s economic development. The PEs contribute more than 22 per cent of the India’s GDP, account for around 6 per cent of the total employment in the organised sector and make a contribution of over 20 per cent to the national * Assistant Professor, Department of Commerce, The University of Burdwan, W est Bengal-713104 Email : 2009sumitbu@gmail.com ** Professor, Department of Commerce, The University of Burdwan, West Bengal-713104 Email : debasishsur@yahoo.co.in