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The Public Enterprise Selection Board (PESB) will interview 15 candidates for the post of Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) of Power Finance Corporation (PFC), the state-owned lender to power sector projects on Monday. The Rs 17,273-crore company has been functioning without a full-time chairman since three months.
Those in the fray for the post include seven external candidates — I J Kapoor, NTPC director (commercial); I S Jha, Powergrid Corporation’s director (projects); A B Agarwal, hydro major Bhakhra Beas Management Board chairman; and R N Mishra, director (civil), Satluj Jal Vidyut Nigam apart from two directors of Container Corporation of India and a Rajasthan cadre Indian Administrative Service officer.
Also, eight internal candidates from PFC will try their luck — acting CMD and Director-Commercial M K Goel, Director-Finance R Nagarajan, Director-Projects A K Agarwal and six executive directors. Goel, an electrical engineer, has been handling the additional charge of chairman since September 14, a day after Satnam Singh was asked to hand over charge.
Singh’s five-year tenure ended on July 31. The government allowed him to continue ‘till further orders’ while the PM-headed Appointments Committee of Cabinet (ACC) examined a proposal for his extension. On September 13, however, an order was served on him to hand-over charge, even as five years were left for his retirement due in July 2018. A vigilance enquiry had been initiated against him. PESB, that operates under the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT), overseas hiring for state-owned companies.
It had advertised for the post of PFC chairman on October 11.
PFC has a loan book of over Rs 160,000 crore. The company sanctioned Rs 75,147 crore and disbursed Rs 45,151 crore last financial year.
