The Central government on Monday received a huge dividend tranche of Rs 5,001 crore from the Maharatna company ONGC.

This was informed by Secretary in the Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM), Tuhin Kanta Pandey.

On November 11, the government had received about Rs 690 crore from Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL) as dividend tranche.

A dividend is the distribution of a company's earnings to its shareholders and is determined by the company's board of directors.

Dividends are often distributed quarterly and may be paid out as cash or in the form of reinvestment in additional stock.

Common shareholders of dividend-paying companies are eligible to receive a distribution as long as they own the stock before the ex-dividend date.