The five administrative officers, with backgrounds ranging from steel to personnel and administration, will now have to take crucial decisions on pricing petroleum products that will have a cascading effect on inflation, which has touched a 13-year high.
"The fact that all decision makers in the ministry have very little experience of the industry is worrisome," said a Delhi-based analyst who advises oil companies. "And this at a time when the industry is passing through unprecedented challenges."
The $132-billion oil and gas sector in India, like in China and other Asian countries, is regulated, with government-owned companies controlling over 85 per cent of oil and gas production, over 70 per cent of refining capacity and almost all of fuel marketing.
Outgoing Petroleum Secretary MS Srinivasan had experience of 80 months, nearly four times the collective experience of the new officers in charge of the oil ministry.
RS Pandey will take over as the steel secretary on August 1. The position of joint secretary (exploration) is vacant after AK Jain's term ended last month.
The joint secretary (refineries and pricing), LN Gupta, has been in charge for just over a month. Joint Secretary (international co-operation) Sunil Jain has been in the oil ministry for around four months. Additional Secretary S Sundareshan, who was the commodities regulator earlier, has 16 months of experience of the oil sector.
"None of these officials have had any experience of working in the oil sector before they took over their present positions," said a top official of a state-owned oil company. Additional Secretary and Financial Advisor PK Sinha has so far had the longest stint in the ministry
