CPSE and PSE P/Es at 11.9 and 10.5, half the Nifty 50's

Two public-sector indices

Nifty CPSE, which tracks central public sector enterprises, closed at 6,163.25 on Tuesday, 6 October 2026. Its price-to-earnings ratio was 11.89, its price-to-book ratio 1.79 and its dividend yield 2.96%.

Nifty PSE, the wider index of public sector enterprises, closed at 9,346.45 at a P/E of 10.52, a P/B of 1.64 and a yield of 2.80%.

These are NSE's published end-of-day ratios, charted on the Nifty CPSE and Nifty PSE valuation pages. The Nifty 50 stood at a P/E of 19.49, so the two public-sector indices cost about 61% and 54% of the market's multiple.

Against their own history

The comparisons start on 31 March 2021, when NSE moved its index P/Es to consolidated earnings. That leaves 1,363 sessions to 6 October.

Both indices sit a little above their middle on P/E, around the 53rd and 56th percentiles, and a little below on P/B. Neither is anywhere near an extreme. Their lows came in 2022: 5.97 for CPSE on 6 July 2022 and 5.31 for PSE on 24 February 2022. Their highs were on 1 August 2024, at 15.41 and 13.74.

So the picture is "fairly ordinary for the last five years, and about half the market's multiple".

Earnings up, prices down

Price divided by the P/E and by the P/B gives a rough earnings and book measure per index unit:

Over the past year, CPSE's price fell 5.7% while its earnings measure rose 8.9% and its book value 11.7%. PSE's price fell 5.8%, with earnings up 8.2% and book up 15.5%. Over two years the prices are down 14.4% and 16.9%, and earnings are up 5.1% and 4.8%.

The multiples have therefore shrunk twice over: CPSE's P/E went from 14.60 in October 2024 to 11.89, and PSE's from 13.26 to 10.52.

Below the 2024 highs

Since the end of 2025, CPSE is down 3.2% and PSE down 5.2%, against 12.8% for the Nifty 50. Both are about a fifth below their record closes of 1 August 2024, 19.4% and 20.4%.

Since 30 March the two have gone the other way from the market. The Nifty 50 is up 2.0% from 22,331.40 to 22,776.10, while CPSE is 10.7% lower than on that day and PSE 2.2% lower.

The yields

Both yield more than twice the Nifty 50's 1.21%, but both are well below their own medians. A lower yield on a lower price means the dividends behind the indices, price times yield, have fallen: from about 210 to 182 for CPSE and from about 291 to 262 for PSE since 6 October 2025. The data shows the drop, not the reason.

What this does not tell you

A low P/E may be a fair price. Public-sector earnings can be cyclical and tied to commodity and regulated prices, so a multiple of 10 is not the same signal as a multiple of 10 in a steady business.

Weights are invisible here. The published ratios do not show how much of each index sits in its largest members, and a few large companies can dominate a narrow index.

These are indices, not funds. PSU and dividend-yield funds hold their own mix. Our PSU fund returns post shows how they have done.

Where to go from here

The guide to infrastructure and PSU funds covers the theme, and how to read an index P/E explains the measure. For the public-sector banks specifically, see our PSU bank P/B post.