PESB rejects all aspirants to chairman’s post at CIL

KOLKATA: The Public Enterprises Selection Board (PESB) has rejected all applicants aspiring to become chairman of Coal India, an unprecedented situation after candidates were shortlisted and interviewed.

“The Board did not find any candidate suitable for the post and recommended that the government may chose an appropriate course of further action for the selection,” PESB said after interviewing six candidates.

According to a former Coal India executive, the government may now set up a search committee and broaden the selection criteria for the post or consider nominating a candidate.


In the case of NTPC, the government had initially said candidates would be eligible if they had an engineering degree but later this condition was dropped.

Candidates in the race for Coal India’s top job included Gopal Singh, chairman and managing director at Central Coalfields; R R Mishra, CMD at West Coalfields; A K Jha, CMD at Mahanadi Coalfields; S Saran, CMD at Central Mine Planning and Design Institute; K Biswal, director finance at NTPC and T R Rao, director commercial at NMDC.

No candidate from the private sector was shortlisted.

Coal India chairman Sutirtha Bhattacharya retires this August.

Although, PESB initiated the selection process for the successor well in time, the appointment may now be delayed. However, the government is likely to ensure timely appointment of the chairman of the world’s largest coal company.