ONGC News Highlights:
- Alka Mittal is the country’s first female CEO of a major oil and gas company.
- She has been named interim chairperson and managing director of Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC).
Alka Mittal, the first woman to lead the country’s major oil and gas company, has been named interim chairperson and managing director of Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC).Ms. Mittal succeeds Subhash Kumar, another interim head who retired on December 31 after reaching superannuation age.
The proposal of the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas for entrustment of additional charge of the post of Chairman and Managing Director (CMD), ONGC to Alka Mittal, Director (HR), ONGC has approved by The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) for a period of six months with effect from January 1, 2022, or until the appointment of a regular incumbent to the post, or until further order, whichever is the earliest,” the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) said.
The first woman to lead the corporation
Ms. Mittal is the first woman to lead a corporation that specializes in oil and gas exploration and production. When Nishi Vasudeva took over the reins of Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd, an oil refiner and fuel marketing company, in 2014, she became the first woman to lead an oil company (HPCL).
Ms. Mittal, who holds a master’s degree in economics and a doctorate in commerce, cracked the glass ceiling in ONGC by becoming the company’s first female board member on November 27, 2018.
ONGC
ONGC will now have two full-time female directors, according to the selection of Pomila Jaspal for the position of Director by the government’s headhunter, the Public Enterprise Selection Board (PESB) (Finance).
Ms. Jaspal is the Director (Finance) of Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd, an ONGC subsidiary (MRPL).
EIL
Vartika Shukla, the first woman to lead engineering consultancy firm Engineers India Ltd (EIL) on September 1, 2021, is the second woman to lead a PSU in the oil and gas sector.
Mr. Kumar, who was ONGC’s Director-Finance and has also served as chairman and managing director since April last year, will retire on December 31, 2021, according to ONGC’s stock exchange statement last week.
“With effect from January 1, 2022, Anurag Sharma, Director (Onshore), has been entrusted with additional charge of the post of Director (Finance”),” the business said, citing a Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas decision dated December 28, 2021.
ONGC’s final full-time CEO
Shashi Shanker, ONGC’s final full-time CEO, retired on March 31, 2021, and because a replacement was not found, Mr. Kumar, the board’s senior most director, was given extra responsibilities.
PESB
On June 4, 2021, government headhunter PESB interviewed candidates to find a replacement for Mr. Shanker, but none of the nine prospects, including two incumbent IAS officers, were suitable.
The PESB interviewed nine of the ten individuals that applied for the position of ONGC’s Chief Executive Officer.
“In light of the company’s strategic relevance and vision for the future, the Board did not suggest any applicant and chose to form a Search Committee,” PESB stated in a statement following the interviews.
Because the Search Committee has yet to be formed, a full-time replacement is unlikely to be appointed soon. Applications will be sought when the panel has been formed, which might take one to two months.
Following that, interviews would be held, and a suitable applicant would be forwarded to the government for vetting and appointment.
After receiving clearance from anti-corruption organisations such as the CVC and CBI, the ACC will make a decision on the appointment, which will take at least 3-4 months.
