Golden share
Topic: Industrial Policy, Public Sector, MSMEs and Disinvestment · NCERT: Beyond NCERT
Meaning
A golden share is a special share that the government keeps in a company after privatising it. It carries little or no ownership value, but it gives the government a veto, meaning the power to block specified key decisions. Such decisions might include selling the company to a foreign buyer or changing its core business. It lets the state hand over ownership and daily management while still protecting a strategic or public interest.
Example
Suppose the government sells its full stake in a port-operating company to a private buyer. It keeps one golden share. The new owner runs the business freely, but cannot sell control to a foreign firm or shut the port without the government's consent.
Don't confuse with
- Minority stake sale: In a minority stake sale the government keeps a majority of the shares, and control comes from that majority. With a golden share the government owns almost nothing, and its control comes only from a special legal right.
Related concepts
- Central public sector enterprise
- Maharatna, Navratna and Miniratna status
- Maharatna status
- Navratna status
- Miniratna status
- Disinvestment
- Minority stake sale
- Strategic sale
- Strategic sector (public enterprise policy)