Kumar Shanker takes charge as Managing Director of Indraprastha Gas
Indraprastha Gas Ltd (IGL), India’s largest city gas distributor, said on Monday that Kumar Shanker has assumed charge as its managing director. He succeeds Kamal Kishore Chatiwal, who has returned to parent company GAIL (India) Ltd after a three-year stint.
Shanker, a chemical engineer from BITS Pilani, brings more than three decades of experience in India’s oil and gas sector, spanning natural gas processing, petrochemicals, project management, corporate strategy, marketing, regulatory affairs and city gas distribution, IGL said in a statement.
Prior to joining IGL, he served as Managing Director of Maharashtra Natural Gas Ltd (MNGL), where the company emerged as one of India’s top-five city gas distributors in terms of growth, profitability and expansion of domestic piped gas infrastructure.
Over a career spanning more than 30 years at GAIL, Shanker held positions across multiple business verticals and locations, including Gujarat, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and New Delhi, it said, adding that he has been closely involved in regulatory matters relating to gas pipeline tariffs, open access and network authorisations.
Shanker also played a key role in the introduction of the unified tariff mechanism for India’s national gas grid, a reform aimed at improving access to natural gas across the country. IGL is a joint venture between GAIL (India) Ltd and Bharat Petroleum Corp Ltd (BPCL), with the Government of the National Capital Territory of Delhi holding a 5 per cent stake.
The company operates city gas distribution networks across 33 districts in four states -- Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Rajasthan. It has laid more than 30,000 km of pipeline network and supplies compressed natural gas (CNG) through over 1,000 stations. IGL serves more than 2.1 million CNG vehicles and has connected nearly 3.5 million households with piped natural gas (PNG).
