Govt establishes panel to select IOC chief

The government has set up a panel to select a chairman for Indian Oil Corp after giving its current chief, S M Vaidya, a rare extension after he retired in August.

“The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) has approved the proposal of the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas for selection to the post of Chairman, Indian Oil Corporation Ltd, on immediate absorption basis, through a search-cum-selection committee as a one-time measure,” according to a government order.

The committee comprises Public Enterprise Selection Board (PESB) chairperson Mallika Srinivasan, petroleum secretary Pankaj Jain, and former HPCL chairman M K Surana. Surana is part of the committee in the capacity of an “outside expert of eminence”.

A similar three-member committee, comprising Srinivasan, Jain, and former Indian Oil Chairman B Ashok as the outside expert was set up last year to select ONGC chairman. The panel recommended former BPCL chief Arun Singh, who the ACC appointed ONGC chairman late last year.

The committee to select the Indian Oil chief is likely to relax the age criteria, as previously done for the ONGC chief, and consider even retired executives for the job, according to the people familiar with the matter. This would keep Vaidya in play.

In August, the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet gave Vaidya a re-employment contract for a year even though the oil ministry had recommended a two-year extension for him. His re-employment is contractual and began soon after he retired at the end of August and is valid “till 31.08.2024, or till the appointment of regular incumbent to the post, or until further orders, whichever is the earliest,” a government order previously said.

Indian Oil is the top refiner and fuel retailer in the country and acts as a price setter for the domestic market. Its large role in domestic supplies and prices makes it crucial for the government in an election year.