Question -
Answer -
A public company is defined as a company that offers a part of its ownership in the form of shares, debentures, bonds, securities to the general public through stock market. There must be atleast seven members to form a public company. As per the section 3 (1) (iv) of Companies Act 1956, public company means a company which:
a) is not a private company,
b) has a minimum paid up capital of Rs 5,00,000 or such higher paid up capital, as may be prescribed,
c) is a private company, being a subsidiary of a company which is not a private company.
A public company should not be mistakenly understood as a publicly-owned company, as the latter is exclusively owned and controlled by the government. A public company issues its share to general public without any restriction on maximum number of persons. A public company can be segmented into two types:
1. Listed Company- A Company whose shares are listed and traded in the stock exchange like, Tata Motors, Reliance, etc.
2. Unlisted Company- A Company whose shares are not listed in the stock exchange and thereby these shares cannot be traded in the stock exchange.