Seeking drastic changes in PSU appointment procedure, ONGC head R S Sharma has demanded that all functional directors should be considered eligible for the Chairman's post even if they do not have the mandatory two years of service left.
Sharma's demand is pertinent to companies like Indian Oil Corporation where none of the functional directors is eligible to be promoted as Chairman and appointment of a junior with no board experience or an outsider looks eminent.
"All functional directors having any residual service at the time of vacancy may be considered eligible for the Chairman and Managing Director's post," he wrote to the Public Enterprises Selection Board (PESB) Chairman Chewang Phunsog.
At present, to be eligible for the job of chairman, a person from within the company should not be even a day older than 58 years (should have at least two years of service left before he or she achieves the superannuation age of 60 years).
He said in cases where none of the functional directors has the minimum stipulated service period when the incumbent chairman retires or resigns from service, the government may consider giving one of the directors a fixed two-year term as head of the company, irrespective of when he or she retires.
"In case, any Director is selected to the post of CMD, he or she should be allowed to serve for a minimum of 2 years tenure, irrespective of his/her normal superannuation date," he wrote on February 20.
Sharma said experienced and competent officers, who do not have the mandated two years of remaining service, are denied opportunities to become CMD.
In the eventuality of a junior or an outsider being appointed as CMD, "the experienced and competent senior directors on the board have to work under a less competent CMD, thus causing serious anguish, de-motivation and resentment among the deprived ones," he said.
If the change is approved, IOC would be benefitted because upon Sarthak Behuria's retirement as the company chairman in February this year, none of the directors had enough time left in service to be considered for the post.