NEW DELHI: Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) is considered to have desired views of new Oil Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on appointment of B Ashok as the head of India’s biggest oil firm, IOC.
B Ashok, Executive Director (Retail Sales) at Indian Oil Corp (IOC), was on October 9, 2013 chosen to head the company by government headhunters Public Enterprise Selection Board (PESB), but the previous UPA government could not employ him before its period ended.
Ashok’s appointment file was pending in the PMO since last month & last week PMO wrote to Pradhan seeking his comments, said resources privy to the development.
Ashok was to be successful R S Butola who retired from service on May 31 on attaining superannuation age of 60 years. Since a full-time chairman was not hired in time, R K Malhotra, Director (R&D) and senior most directors on IOC board, has been given added charge for the time-being.
Sources said that once eliminated by anti-corruption watchdogs CVC and CBI, M Veerappa Moily, Oil Minister in the previous UPA government, had forwarded Ashok’s candidature to the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC).
The then Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde had approved Ashok’s candidature & the file was put up to the then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh few days before polling to elect a new government ended. Singh however determined to leave it together with several others like situations for the new government to decide.
Sources said since the previous ACC, which has PM, Home Minister and minister-incharge of the involved ministry as members, had been disallowed & a new one is in place with the election of the new government, all appointment files are returned to the respective ministries & a fresh considered is given.
Though, in case of IOC, the PMO has chosen not to return the file just yet and has only desired Pradhan’s view on appointment of Ashok, they said.
Ashok, 56, who has large experience in marketing & international operations at IOC, will have a 3 year period as Chairman if the NDA government approves his appointment.
Sources said IOC faces a peculiar challenge in nearly all its board expected to retire in next few months.
Malhotra, who is acting chairman, is due to retire by the month end. And if by then Ashok is not hired, the added charge will be given to the next senior most directors, AMK Sinha, Director for Business Development.
Sinha will retire by July end & next in line, P K Goyal, Director (Finance), in the following month.
R K Ghosh, Director (Refineries) too will retire by month end although Director (Marketing) M Nene would demit office by end of December. Director (HRD) post is vacant and V S Okhde, the only the functional director on company board, will superannuate on January 31, 2015.
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