The government may select public sector undertaking (PSU) heads from the private sector.
"We have asked the secretaries to prepare a note for the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) to widen the scope of selection criteria for PSU heads," said a power ministry official.
Asked if the initiative would need changes to rules, the official said: "It is up to the competent authority."
NHPC and Coal India are without a full-time chairman.