The Acting Chairman

The Coal India case shows why the recruitment process in PSUs needs overhauling

This can happen only in India, or more precisely, in India’s public sector companies (PSU). Gopal Singh, chief of Central Coalfields, has been holding additional charge of chairman and managing director of Coal India Ltd (CIL), one of the largest PSUs in India, since September 1 last year. Nothing unusual, except that Singh’s candidature for the top job was rejected by the Public Enterprises Selection Board less than three months earlier —in June last year, according to a report in the Indian Express on Wednesday.

This means the stewardship of the world’s largest coal producer rests on somebody who knows he