NEW DELHI, June 7 - The wait for appointment of chairman-cum-managing director (CMD) of the country�s second biggest State-owned oil and gas explorer, Oil India Limited (OIL), is likely to be over soon, as the Centre has shortlisted three applicants for the post. According to sources, the choice for appointment of CMD of OIL, pending for a long time, is down to three candidates, including two from private sector and one from petroleum sector giant, the ONGC.
The Prime Minister�s Office (PMO) was forwarded a list of 10 shortlisted candidates, which was pruned to three, said sources, adding that a final decision is likely to be taken shortly.
Sunil K Bharti, who previously worked with Cairn India, was called for the interview from the private sector, while PK Rao, Director (Operations) of ONGC Videsh Ltd, and Ashutosh Karnatak, Director (Project) of GAIL India Ltd, were also among the shortlisted candidates.
At least 10 candidates were shortlisted from nearly 60 applicants, who were called for the interview by the three-member Search-cum-Selection Committee headed by Cabinet Secretary PK Sinha on April 25.
Sources said that senior IAS officers Anil Kumar Jain and Ravi Kapoor were among the 10 candidates in the fray for the top job at the OIL.
Of the 10 shortlisted candidates, four were bureaucrats. While Jain is a 1986-batch IAS officer from Madhya Pradesh cadre, who is currently the Adviser in NITI Aayog, Kapoor is 1986-batch IAS officer from Assam-Meghalaya cadre, who is currently the Joint Secretary in the Department of Commerce. Both of them have previously served in the Oil Ministry.
A 1988-batch Assam-Meghalaya cadre IAS officer, Jishnu Barua, who is currently the Joint Secretary in the Department of Personnel and Training, was also called for the interview, sources said.
From within the Oil India, Director (Operations) PK Sharma was also called for the interview. The OIL Director (Finance), Rupshikha Saikia Borah, who was previously selected for the top job by Government head hunter, the Public Enterprises Selection Board (PESB), but rejected by the PMO, was not considered even though she had applied again.
The PESB, in its first round of interview in November 2014, found Borah and five others unsuitable to replace SK Srivastava, who retired on June 30, 2015.
However, it selected Borah, when it conducted a second round of interview in February 2015. Later, the Board scrapped its decision and fresh applications were called. None of the 12 candidates, including Borah, were found suitable in the third round of interview done by the PESB in September.
