ONGC chairman selection: 7 candidates in second round

Seven candidates shortlisted for the top job at State-run Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) are likely to appear before a search-cum-selection committee this week, as the Government moves ahead with choosing a successor to Chairman and Managing Director Arun Kumar Singh, people familiar with the selection process said.

The second round of interviews comes after 18 applicants were screened on August 18, with the field subsequently narrowed to seven.

The selection process has drawn attention over a one-off relaxation in the age eligibility criterion, allowing candidates up to 59 years of age — a departure from the existing 58-year limit and the recent relaxation to 60 years in the case of State-run power producer NTPC, as well as ONGC, in 2022.

Oil India Ltd Chairman and Managing Director Ranjit Rath, who is seen as a frontrunner, is among those shortlisted. Rath, 54, is making a second attempt at the ONGC top job after being shortlisted last year, when the <Government opted instead to extend Singh’s tenure.

The other shortlisted candidates include ONGC Videsh Ltd Managing Director Rajarshi Gupta, 59; ONGC Director for Technology and Field Services Vikram Saxena; ONGC Director for Strategy and Corporate Affairs Satyam Kumar; OVL Director for Operations Dulal Halder; MRPL Director (Finance) Devendra Kumar and Indian Oil Corporation Director (Marketing) SP Shrivastava, according to people familiar with the process.

The Government earlier relaxed the age criterion for the ONGC appointment, allowing applications from candidates who had not attained 59 years on the date of occurrence of the vacancy —December 7, 2026, when Singh’s extended tenure ends.

Under the existing norms, the upper age limit is generally 58 years for internal candidates and 57 years for external candidates, while the superannuation age for public-sector executives is 60.

Gupta’s shortlisting has raised questions because he will be about 59 years and five months old on December 7, making him ineligible under a literal reading of the 59-year condition in the advertisement. Candidates who chose not to apply because they would cross the age limit by the date of vacancy could challenge the selection process if Gupta is ultimately appointed, the people said.

The advertisement states that “the maximum age of an applicant should be 59 years on the date of vacancy” and that “any employment or extension beyond 60 years would be on a contractual basis”.

The selection will be made by a three-member search-cum-selection committee comprising the chairperson of the Public Enterprises Selection Board (PESB), the oil secretary and a former Indian Oil chairman as an outside expert.

The government also modified the educational qualification criteria through an addendum, specifying that applicants should be first-class graduates with degrees in engineering, chartered accountancy, or cost accountancy, or postgraduates or graduates with a full-time MBA/PGDIM from a leading institute.

Rath has headed Oil India, India’s second-largest state-run oil and gas explorer, since August 2022. He had applied for the top job at ONGC last year also, but the government chose to give Singh another one year at the helm.

The latest selection process follows a series of changes at the top of ONGC. The company was without a full-time chief between April 2021 and December 2022, and was led by three interim chairmen before Singh was appointed.

The government had also relaxed eligibility rules when Singh was selected in 2022. The search committee picked him in August that year, when he was less than four months short of 60. He took charge of ONGC in December 2022 after retiring as chairman and managing director of Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd.

Singh was granted a rare one-year extension last year, allowing him to remain at the helm until December 2026. He will be more than 64 years old when his extended tenure ends.

The ONGC chairman will be responsible for the overall management and strategic direction of the country’s largest oil and gas producer, including boosting revenue and profitability, driving exploration and production, expanding into new energy and petrochemicals through acquisitions and joint ventures, and overseeing technology adoption.