EX-NTPC CMD R S Sharma appointed as Jindal Power MD

Jindal Power (JPL), a company promoted by the Naveen Jindal-controlled Jindal Steel & Power (JSPL), has appointed former NTPC chairman RS Sharma as its new managing director. The appointment indicates JSPL's strategy of recruiting senior government personnel to key management positions that will steer the OP Jindal group's ambitious growth plans in power. Mr Sharma's appointment is expected to provide an impetus to the company's ambitious growth strategy, while adding muscle to the company's management team. Given his long 38-year association with the power sector, Mr Sharma brings to the table multi-functional knowledge in operations, project implementation, corporate planning, commercial and regulatory affairs. Earlier, JSPL had appointed Vikrant Gujral, a former MD of Steel Authority of India's Bhilai Steel plant, as vice-chairman and CEO in 2001.

Confirming his appointment at JPL, RS Sharma told ET: "I decided to join the company because I wanted to add value to their power business. I would like to focus on speedy and fast track project implementation, reliable and efficient power generation. In the hydro-electric sector, where the group has a number of plans, there are quite a few issues that need to be examined, discussed and given a push. Overall, I would like to create new role models of excellence in the area of project implementation and contribute to the national power scenario."

Compared with NTPC, Jindal Power has a much smaller footprint in the power sector. However, the company has the distinction of setting up India's first mega power project in the private sector at Tamnar in Raigarh district in Chhattisgarh. Part of JSPL's ambitious plans for the future include expanding capacity at Tamnar by setting up an additional 2,400 MW thermal power plant at an investment of $2.5 billion.

JPL has also signed an MoU with the Jharkhand government for setting up a coal-fired 2640 MW power plant. It has also lined up two other projects in the state - a 1,320 MW unit at Dumka and another 660 MW power plant at Godda. In the hydro sector, JPL has signed agreements for 6100 MW projects in Arunachal Pradesh in a joint venture with the Hydro Power Development Corporation of Arunachal Pradesh. JSPL is also keen to get into gas, wind, nuclear and solar power.

Mr Sharma who spent nearly 30 years of his career at various project sites in power sector, has headed a number of projects at NTPC. He is also instrumental in the preparation of guidelines for setting up a power exchange in India. His appointment is expected to step up JPL's expansion plans. A 1971-batch student of mechanical engineering from the Government Engineering College at Rewa in Madhya Pradesh, Mr Sharma started his career with the Madhya Pradesh State Electricity Board, before joining NTPC in February, 1980.