NTPC Limited, formerly known as National Thermal Power Corporation, is an Indian central Public Sector Undertaking (PSU) owned by the Ministry of Power and the Government of India, which is engaged in the generation of electricity and other activities. The headquarters of the PSU are situated at New Delhi. NTPC's core function is the generation and distribution of electricity to State Electricity Boards in India. The body also undertakes consultancy and turnkey project contracts that involve engineering, project management, construction management, and operation and management of power plants.
It is the largest power company in India, with an installed capacity of 80,154.50 MW. Although the company has approximately 16% of the total national capacity, it contributes to over 25% of total power generation due to its focus on operating its power plants at higher efficiency levels (approximately 80.2% against the national PLF rate of 64.5%). NTPC currently produces 25 billion units of electricity per month.
NTPC Mining Ltd (NML) has mined about 100 MMT coal in 2023-2024 FY, NML has Pakri Barwadih, Chatti Bariatu and Kerandari Coal Mines in Jharkhand, Dulanga Coal Mine in Odisha and Talaipalli Coal Mine in Chhattisgarh. NTPC currently operates 55 power stations: 24 coal, seven combined cycle gas and liquid fuel, two hydro powered, one wind turbine, and 11 solar projects. Additionally, it has 9 coal and 1 gas station, owned by joint ventures or subsidiaries.
It was founded by the Government of India in 1975, which now holds 51.10% of its equity shares after divestment of its stake in 2004, 2010, 2013, 2014, 2016, and 2017. In May 2010, NTPC was conferred Maharatna status by the Union Government of India, one of only four companies to be awarded this status. It is ranked 433rd in the Forbes Global 2000 for 2023.
History 1975–1994 The company was founded on 7 November 1975 by India's former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi as National Thermal Power Corporation Private Limited. It started working on its first thermal power project in 1976 at Shaktinagar—named National Thermal Power Corporation Private Limited Singrauli—in Uttar Pradesh. In the same year, its name was changed to "National Thermal Power Corporation Limited". In 1983, NTPC began commercial operations and earned profits of INR 4.5 crores in FY 1982–83. By the end of 1985, it had achieved power generation capacity of 2000 MW.In 1986, it completed synchronisation of its first 500 MW unit at Singrauli. In 1988, it commissioned two 500 MW units, one each in Rihand and Ramagundam. In 1989, it started a consultancy division. In 1992, it acquired Feroze Gandhi Unchahar Thermal Power Station from Uttar Pradesh Rajya Vidyut Utpadan Nigam of Uttar Pradesh. By the end of 1994, its installed capacity crossed 15,000 MW.
1995–2004 In 1995, it took over the Talcher Thermal Power Station from Orissa State Electricity Board. In the year 1997, the Government of India conferred it with "Navratna" status. In that same year, it achieved a milestone of generating 100 billion units of electricity in a single year. In 1998, it commissioned its first Naptha-based plant at Kayamkulam with a capacity of 350 MW. In 1999, its plant in Dadri, which had the highest plant load factor (PLF) in India of 96%, was certified with ISO-14001. During 2000, it started construction of its first hydro-electric power project, with 800 MW capacity, in Himachal Pradesh.In 2002, it incorporated 3 subsidiary companies: NTPC Electric Supply Company Limited for forward integration by entering into the business of distribution and trading of power; NTPC Vidyut Vyapar Nigam Limited for meeting the expected rise in energy trading; and NTPC Hydro Limited to carry out the business of implementing and operating small and medium hydropower projects. Later in 2002, its installed capacity crossed 20,000 MW.
NTPC got listed on BSE and NSE on 5 November 2004. Against the issue price of ₹62 per share, it closed the first day of listing with ₹75.55 per share. On the day of listing, it became the third largest company in India in terms of market capitalisation.
2005–present In October 2005, the company's name was changed from National Thermal Power Corporation Limited to NTPC Limited. The primary reason for this change was the company's foray into hydro and nuclear based power generation along with backward integration of coal mining. In 2006, it entered into an agreement with the Government of Sri Lanka to set up two units of 250 MW each in Trincomalee in Sri Lanka. During 2008 and 2011, NTPC entered into joint ventures with BHEL, Bharat Forge, NHPC, Coal India, SAIL, NMDC, and NPCIL to expand its business of power generation. By the end of 2010, its installed capacity crossed 31,000 MW.
The company in 2009 joined forces with other state enterprises Rashtriya Ispat Nigam, Steel Authority of India, Coal India, and National Minerals Development Corporation to invest in coal mining operations through a joint venture vehicle named International Coal Ventures Private Limited (ICVL). In July 2014, ICVL acquired a 65 percent stake in the Benga coal mine in Mozambique from the Rio Tinto Group. In December 2022, the market capitalisation of NTPC limited was ₹1,66,249.34 crore. NTPC limited has engaged PR Professionals (PRP Group) as its Public Relations firm since the beginning of 2026. The PR Firm ever since has been highlighting the work NTPC has been doing in achieving India's energy transition goals.
Organisational Structure NTPC operates from 70 locations in India, one location in Sri Lanka and two locations in Bangladesh. In India, it has eight regional headquarters (HQ):
Sr. No. Headquarters City 1 NCRHQ New Delhi 2 WR-I HQ Mumbai 3 WR-II HQ Raipur 4 SRHQ Secunderabad 5 ER-I HQ Patna 6 ER-II HQ Bhubaneshwar 7 NRHQ Lucknow 8 Hydro HQ Delhi
Board of Directors of the NTPC Sr. No. Name Designation 1 Shri Gurdeep Singh Chairman & Managing Director 2 Shri Jaikumar Srinivasan Director (Finance) 3 Shri Shivam Srivastava Director (Fuel) 4 Shri K. Shanmugha Sundaram Director (Projects) 5 Shri Ravindra Kumar Director (Operations) 6 Shri Anil Kumar Jadli Director (HR) 7 Shri Piyush Singh AS (Thermal) 8 Shri Mahabir Prasad Joint Secretary & Financial Advisor, MoP 9 Dr. Anil Kumar Gupta Independent Director 10 CA Pankaj Gupta Independent Director 11 Dr. K. Ghayathri Devi Independent Director 12 Shri Sushil Kumar Choudhary Independent Director 13 Prof. (Dr.) Som Nath Sachdeva Independent Director
NTPC Officers' Ranks and Basic Pay Level Basic Pay (₹/month) Rank in NTPC Description Equivalent Rank in the Government of India - — Chairman & Managing Director Head of the NTPC Secretary - — Board of Directors Highest governance and decision-making body, shaping enterprise-wide strategies, long-term investments Special Secretary E9 — Executive Director Commands a region, major mega-station, or vital corporate vertical Additional Secretary E8 — General Manager (GM) Holds ultimate accountability for large-scale power operations and profit centers, and shapes strategic enterprise policies to drive long-term business growth and national energy goals. Additional Secretary E7 — Deputy General Manager (DGM) Directs a major plant division or corporate department, shapes strategic long-term policies, manages high-level budgets Joint Secretary E6 — Senior Manager Oversees multiple operational or engineering units, drives high-level strategic initiatives Joint Secretary E5 — Manager Entry to the senior management role, heads a major department or operational unit Director E4 — Deputy Manager Leads larger technical teams, manages critical plant maintenance and operational budgets Deputy Secretary E3 — Assistant Manager Oversees daily power plant operations Under Secretary E2 — Senior Engineer Supervise daily maintenance and shift operations, lead frontline technical teams, and ensure strict safety compliance Assistant SecretaryGroup A E1 — Executive Engineer Trainee Engineering executive trainees (EETs) are recruited through the GATE examination at this level Section OfficerGroup B E0 — Assistant Officer Routine on-site engineering tasks, laboratory testing, or administrative duties under senior executive guidance. Assistant Section OfficerGroup B W0-WSG — Worksmen/ Non-Executive Operate, maintain, and support plant machinery and administration to ensure steady power generation UDC/LDC/MTSGroup C
Note: Apart from the Basic Pay, all officials of the NTPC receive accommodation in Company quarter, other perks & allowances upto 35% of Basic Pay, Industrial Dearness Allowance (IDA), Night Shift Allowance, Petrol/Conveyance Allowance, Field Compensatory Allowance (incase of posting in Northeast India or Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh), Foreign Deputation Allowance (incase of Posting in Bangladesh or Sri Lanka), Leave as per Rule, Medical Treatment/ Airlift by helicopter during medical emergency/ reimbursement of every medical treatments and medicine, Subsidized Canteen facilities, Self Contributory Superannuation Benefit Fund, Provident Fund, Annual allowances like Performance Related Payment, Uniform & Dress Allowance, Festival Advance / Bonus, Laptop Allowance, Mobile Allowance, Briefcase Allowance, Furniture Allowance and Book Allowance, are also admissible as per Company's Rules.
Scheduling and generation dispatch The scheduling and dispatch of all the generating stations owned by National Thermal Power Corporation are done by respective regional load dispatch centers, which are the apex body to ensure integrated operation of the power system grid in the respective region. All these load dispatch centers come under Power System Operation Corporation Limited (POSOCO).
Subsidiaries Convergence Energy Services Limited Energy Efficiency Services Limited Green Valley Renewable Energy Limited (GVREL) NTPC Mining Limited NTPC Green Energy NTPC Renewables Limited National High Power Test Laboratory Private Limited (NHPTL) NEEPCO THDC India Limited Tusco Ltd.
Joint ventures Aravali Power Company Pvt. Ltd.
Capacity of plants The total installed capacity of the company is 72,304 MW (including 13,465 MW through JVs/subsidiaries) across the country, (26 Coal based stations, seven gas based stations, one hydro station, one small hydro, 11 solar PV, and one wind based station) and 25 joint venture stations (nine coal based, four gas based, eight hydro-powered, one small hydro, two wind-powered, and one solar PV).
Thermal power Coal-based power plants (own operational)