SSC · Police
ONGC Videsh Limited (OVL) is a subsidiary of:
Answer (Detailed Solution Below)View answer ▾Hide ▴
Answer: Option A — Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC)
Detailed Solution
ONGC Videsh Limited (OVL) is the wholly owned overseas arm of ONGC. "Videsh" means "foreign" in Hindi. Its main business is to explore for and produce oil and natural gas outside India, by acquiring stakes in oil and gas fields abroad. This helps improve India's energy security, since India imports most of the crude oil it uses.
OVL was originally set up in 1965 as Hydrocarbons India Private Limited, to look for oil abroad. It was renamed ONGC Videsh Limited in 1989. Its headquarters is in New Delhi. Today it has stakes in many projects in about 15 countries, including Russia (Sakhalin-1 and Vankor), Mozambique (Rovuma Area 1 LNG), Vietnam, Brazil, Colombia, Venezuela, Azerbaijan, Iraq, the UAE (Lower Zakum) and South Sudan.
Its parent company, ONGC, was set up as a commission in 1956 (the Oil and Natural Gas Commission) and became a corporation in 1994. Its headquarters is in New Delhi (registered office), and it has a large base in Dehradun, Uttarakhand, where it was born as a directorate. ONGC is India's largest producer of crude oil and natural gas; it discovered and operates the Mumbai High offshore field. It is a Maharatna company, under the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas. It also owns Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Limited (MRPL) and, since 2018, a majority stake in Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL).
Other major oil and gas PSUs:
- Indian Oil Corporation (IOCL): the largest oil refining and marketing company; a Maharatna.
- GAIL (India) Limited: the largest natural gas transmission and marketing company; a Maharatna.
- Oil India Limited (OIL): based in Duliajan, Assam; it became a Maharatna in 2023.
- Bharat Petroleum (BPCL) and HPCL: refining and marketing.
Why not the other options?
- ✗Indian Oil Corporation mainly refines and markets petroleum products.
- ✗GAIL mainly transmits and markets natural gas.
- ✗Oil India Limited is a separate exploration company based in Assam.
Quick tip
Remember: ONGC Videsh = overseas arm of ONGC (stakes in Russia's Sakhalin-1, Mozambique, Vietnam); ONGC = Maharatna, largest oil producer, Mumbai High; Oil India = Duliajan (Assam).
💬 Discussions on this question
Ask a doubt ›Still stuck on this question? Ask our faculty and fellow students — answers appear here.
Ask a doubtMore PSUs, Navratnas & Maharatnas Questions
View all ›- Q1.The Khetri Copper Complex (KCC) of Hindustan Copper Limited is located in:
- Q2.Coal India Limited (CIL) holds which status among central public sector enterprises?
- Q3.Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Limited (RINL), a central public sector steel company, is popularly referred to as:
- Q4.The headquarters of Mineral Exploration and Consultancy Limited (MECL) is located in:
More General Knowledge Questions
- Q1.The techniques of Rasa and Bhava used in Indian classical dance trace their origin to which ancient text?Indian Dance Forms
- Q2.Lavani, Powada, Koli, Waghya Murali and Dhangari Gaja are folk dances of which state?Indian Dance Forms
- Q3.The one-act play associated with the Sattriya tradition of Assam is called:Indian Dance Forms
- Q4.Which dance form of Goa is known as the 'Warrior Dance'?Indian Dance Forms
- Q5.Manipuri dance is based on the Rasleela themes of:Indian Dance Forms
PSUs, Navratnas & Maharatnas — Preparation
This question tests your understanding of PSUs, Navratnas & Maharatnas, a key topic in the General Knowledge section. The detailed solution above uses a step-by-step approach to show the reasoning, and where available, a shortcut that helps you solve similar questions in under 90 seconds during the actual exam.
This topic covers public sector undertakings in India, the Maharatna, Navratna and Miniratna categories and the criteria for each, major PSUs and their headquarters, and disinvestment policy. Questions often ask which companies hold Maharatna or Navratna status, what the criteria are, and where a PSU is headquartered. The list of companies with each status changes when new companies are upgraded, so check the latest list from the Department of Public Enterprises before your exam. Practise the PSUs, Navratnas and Maharatnas questions below, written in the style of the general awareness sections of exams such as SSC, banking, railways, CUET GAT, MAH CET and CLAT. Each question comes with a detailed explanation that adds related facts, so every question helps you revise more than one point.