Rakteem Katakey: Mumbai High vs Delhi's lows

BACKSTAGE

Few could believe Subir Raha would be denied an extension as ONGC's chairman and managing director on May 24, 2006, but when it did happen, finance director R S Sharma seemed the logical person to succeed him, and indeed, the Public Enterprise Selection Board that picked him for the job seemed to think so as well. But on February 6, the day that Sharma met a few journalists to announce the company would, together with Malaysian oil major Petronas, hunt for oil and gas all over the world, he was told he would no longer be ONGC's chairman. For the company which saw some prestigious projects approved during Raha's tenure being whittled down on one ground or another, the uncertainty is a huge blow.

While it was first said Sharma had some vigilance cases pending against him, Petroleum Minister Murli Deora clarified this was not true. The reason for the reversal remains shrouded in mystery. But a new search committee is to be formed and it is unlikely that Sharma will put his hat in the ring again.

Sharma, it is true, does not enjoy the same standing that Raha did in the industry but is certainly a lot more liked within the company. When the man who loves football posted a note on the company's internal website on the evening of February 8 saying he would not let his company down and would continue to be the chairman till the government came up with a new name, there were 4,370 hits on the comment.

Apart from his role as a finance person, what endeared Sharma to fellow ONGCians was his handling of the crisis following the Mumbai High fire in July 2005. Since he was the only director in Mumbai at the time, and Raha could not land in the city as the airport was flooded, it was he who coordinated the rescue operations in Mumbai.

Radhe Shyam Sharma, who likes to be called RS, joined ONGC as joint director (finance) in 1998. He was posted in Assam. The then general manager (finance), who has now retired, declared that Sharma was not fit to be in finance. "In less than 15 years he proved everyone wrong. He not only has a strong foundation in finance, but his staunch discipline has found him a place in the board of directors," a close Sharma aide said.

Sharma, who recently turned 54, started his career with Union Bank of India in the finance, banking and credit appraisal departments. After staying with the public sector bank for 10 years, he went to Baghdad to head the finance section of another public sector enterprise "" the Indian Road Construction Corporation Ltd. It was in Baghdad that he picked up much of his oil and gas sector knowledge.

As a finance functionary, Sharma provided convincing arguments to the government on why ONGC should be allowed to move to freer market pricing for crude and other products, and he was also instrumental in the company's 10 per cent stake dilution in 2004, which is India's highest-ever equity offer. "Almost single handedly, Sharma has brought down ONGC's debt-equity ratio to zero, thus bringing down the company's financial risk," says an analyst who has been tracking the company for many years. Looks like Sharma will once again be headed to working full time on something he knows best.