SAIL chairman C. S. Verma was today asked to hand over charge to steel secretary Rakesh Singh, making him the first head of a maharatna PSU to be denied an extension during the current NDA regime.
Verma was hoping for an extension and was believed to have been lobbying to keep the top job in the country's largest steel maker. He had recently accompanied Prime Minister Narendra Modi on trips to the steel towns of Rourkela and Burnpur and is believed to have pitched his case.
However, sources said what went against him was the declining revenue and profitability of SAIL and a perception that all was not well with the steel behemoth.
Rakesh Singh has been brought in as an interim head as he is set to retire in September. The Public Enterprise Selection Board (PESB) and the appointments committee of the cabinet will have to finalise a candidate for the top job at the Rs 50,000-crore steel maker.
In all likelihood, an outsider may be brought in as an internal candidate is unlikely to have the requisite mix of experience and youth required for the top job. According to the criteria laid down by the PESB, the SAIL chairman has to be someone who is at least three years away from retirement.
Verma was appointed SAIL's chairman and managing director in June 2010 for a five-year term by the previous UPA government, but was eligible for an extension till he attained the superannuation age of 60 years in September 2019.
The last time a maharatna PSU head was denied an extension was in May 2006 when Subir Raha's term was not extended as the chairman and managing director of Oil and Natural Gas Corporation.
There are seven state-owned companies which have been classified as maharatna, or largest PSUs. Besides SAIL, the other maharatnas are NTPC, Coal India, IOC, ONGC, Bhel and GAIL.
Power producer NTPC's chairman and managing director Arup Roy Choudhury will complete his five-year term on August 31 and will be eligible for extension till he attains superannuation in December 2016. There is speculation that he, too, may not get an extension.
GAIL chairman B.C. Tripathi, however, got a second five-year term in July 2014 but his appointment has to be confirmed after one year. It remains to be seen if Tripathi, who was the youngest person to head a maharatna PSU when he was appointed in August 2009, will be allowed to continue for his second five-year term ending July 2019.
Source: The Telegraph (Calcutta)