Sandeep Gupta selected as new IOC Chmn.
GAIL chairman Sandeep Gupta's secret selection as the next IndianOil chairman has come in for widespread industry criticism.
On August 8 (2024), a search and selection committee finalised the eligibility criteria, prepared a shortlist, and interviewed eleven candidates on August 11 (2024). "No one knows what happened during the August 8 meeting," says a source.
"There were no particular criteria which were relaxed; while some not eligible because of their age were also called for the interviews, and some ineligible due to their experience were also called." Gupta had not even applied for the position, yet the selection committee called him in for an interview and selected him.
"Does this mean no one else was a good fit for the position?" wonders our source. "Isn't it suspicious that just one candidate who had not even applied for the position was called and then later selected?" Another source questions the wisdom of appointing the head of one state-owned company as the head of another.
If Gupta joins IndianOil, then the PESB must advertise the GAIL chairman vacancy, and it will take at least a year to complete that selection. One of the strongest critics of the move is IndianOil's former executive director (gas) PK Yadav.
He complained to the oil ministry on August 17 (2024). "Firstly, it did not feel right when it took the SCSC (search and selection committee) approximately 9-10 months from its constitution to publish the advertisement for the position, which was finally published on June 4 (2024)," writes Yadav.
"On going through the advertisement, to my surprise, the last paragraph provided the SCSC with an extensive range of powers, from inviting those persons who have not even applied for the position to relaxing and waiving off the eligibility requirements altogether, rendering the entire eligibility criteria redundant." Clearly annoyed, Yadav stresses such powers were not even granted to the committee meant to select the ONGC strategy and corporate affairs director, a position advertised on January 4 (2024).