Govt receives 60 applications for Indian Oil’s Chairman position: Sources

The search for Indian Oil Chairman intensifies as 60 applications received

New Delhi: The Search-cum-Selection Committee (SCSC) established by the government to select a Chairman for India’s largest Oil Marketing Company (OMC), Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), has received 60 applications, according to reliable sources reported by PSU Watch. The pool of applicants includes not only current and former directors and executive directors from Indian Oil but also senior officials from various Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs) such as Oil & Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC), NMDC Limited, Coal India Limited (CIL), CONCOR, Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL), GAIL (India) Limited, Indradhanush Gas Grid Limited (IGGL), Chennai Petroleum Corporation Limited (CPCL), and Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL).

In addition to PSUs, candidates from Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) and HDFC Bank are also among the applicants, alongside entrepreneurs and academics. This diverse list reflects a broad spectrum of backgrounds.

The search for the next Chairman of Indian Oil has gained momentum with the current Chairman, SM Vaidya, set to complete his tenure on August 31. Notable names among the applicants include IOC Director (HR) Rashmi Govil, IOC Director (Planning & Business Development) Sujoy Choudhury, IOC Director (Finance) Anuj Jain, IOC Director (Marketing) Satish Kumar Vaduguri, IOC Director (Pipelines) Senthil Kumar, IOC Director (R&D) Alok Sharma, CPCL MD Arvind Kumar, HPCL Director (Marketing) Amit Garg, GAIL Director (Projects) Deepak Gupta, GAIL Director (BD) Rajeev Kumar Singhal, IGGL CEO Ajit Kumar Thakur, BPCL Director (Marketing) Sukhmal Kumar Jain, and BPCL Director (Refineries) Sanjay Khanna.

The government initiated the search process for the Indian Oil Chairman position in June after the Public Enterprises Selection Board (PESB) was unable to identify a suitable candidate. The SCSC was formed, and applications were solicited from engineers, chartered accountants, and cost accountants with postgraduate management degrees from leading institutions, and at least five years of experience in leadership roles, by July 3. The age limit was set at not more than 58 years for internal candidates and 57 years for external candidates, with a retirement age of 60 years. This restriction precluded Vaidya, who would turn 61 in August, from reapplying.

The three-member SCSC, which is led by the PESB Chairperson and includes the Oil Secretary and former HPCL Chairman MK Surana, is tasked with the selection process.