NTPC Limited, formerly known as National Thermal Power Corporation, is an Indian central Public Sector Undertaking (PSU) under the ownership of the Ministry of Power and the Government of India, who 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 electric power generating capacity of 71,594 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 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 Government of India in 1975, which now holds 51.1% 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 433th in the Forbes Global 2000 for 2023.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.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.[9] 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.The company has developed a long-term plan to become a 128,000 MW company by 2032. NTPC Limited is on an expansion spree to meet the power requirements of the country—the company has targeted to add 14,058 MW in 12th Plan (from FY13 to FY 17) of which it had already added 4,170 MW in 2012–2013, 1835 MW in 2013–2014, 1290 MW in 2014–2015, and 1150 MW from April–30 November 2015.

As of 30 November 2015, the company has 23,004 MW under construction. NTPC is diversifying its capacity mix with much emphasis on renewable energy. As on 30 November 2015, NTPC has 110 MW Solar PV capacity under operation, 250 MW under construction, and 1260 MW under tendering. The company intends to add 10000 MW of Solar PV capacity in the next five years. On 18 July 2015, NTPC declared commercial its first Hydro Power plant at Koldam in the state of Himachal Pradesh. The company has a long-term plan to reduce its fossil fuel capacity mix to 56% by 2032.

NTPC also plans to go global. The public sector company has signed a memorandum of agreement (MoU) with the Government of Sri Lanka and Ceylon Electricity Board for setting up a 500 MW (2×250) coal-based thermal power plant in the island nation. An MoU has also been signed with Kyushu Electric Power Co. Inc., Japan, for establishing an alliance for exchange of information and experts from different areas of the business. The company is also in the process of finalizing an MoU with Nigeria for setting up power plants against the allocation of LNG on a long-term basis for NTPC plants in India. NTPC is also developing a joint-venture coal-based power plant 1,320 MW (2×660) with the Bangladesh Power Development Board known as Bangladesh India Friendship Power Company in Rampal, Bangladesh, which is facing tremendous opposition from the people of Bangladesh owing to the plant’s dangerously close proximity to the Sundarbans.
As of 31 March 2015, the company had 24,067 employees. The attrition rate for the FY 2014–2015, including the trainee employees and employees working for subsidiaries and JVs, was 1.35%. Man MW Ratio of the company has fallen from 0.77 in the FY11 to 0.61 in FY 15. NTPC has been awarded continuously as great places to work for in PSUs category.

NTPC was ranked second among the 250 largest power producer energy traders in the world by Platts in 2015. On overall basis NTPC ranked 56th amongst Platts 250 companies.In 2009, it received ICSI National Award for Excellence in Corporate Governance.The company (and other PSUs in India) has been allotted land for setting power plants and related infrastructure in rural or tribal areas across the country by Central Government and various state governments. Some of these lands have been allotted to NTPC (and other PSUs in India) through Land Acquisition Acts passed by Central and State Governments. Wherever a land acquisition law is enacted, it also places a liability on the PSUs or governments to take actions for proper rehabilitation of displaced residents of that rural or tribal area. Governments or PSUs are criticized if they do not fulfill their liability towards displaced residents. In many areas where land acquisition is proposed through land acquisition laws, local residents oppose the forcible acquisition, as they are not sure of proper rehabilitation.