L&T may appoint senior vice-president, finance, R Shankar Raman as CFO

Larsen and Toubro's senior vice-president, finance, R Shankar Raman, is the frontrunner in the race of chief financial officer after incumbent YM Deosthalee's tenure ends in a few weeks, sources close to the development told ET. 

Raman's appointment would be a part of a wider change in the company's top management as most top executives have either recently retired or would be retiring soon. L&T is also looking for a successor to Chairman and Managing Director, AM Naik, who retires in September next year. The succession plan is tracked globally as the infrastructure behemoth is a sector leader and has 6.60% weightage in Sensex. The $11.7-billion conglomerate is likely to take up the proposal to induct Shankar Raman on its board of directors in its meeting soon. "My term comes to an end in September so I will exit sometime after the listing of L&T Finance," Deosthalee told ET. He declined to comment on the appointment of Shankar Raman, saying "something will be announced shortly."

Mr Jayadeb Nanda takes over as Regional Executive Director of NTPC Southern Region in Secunderabad

Mr Jayadeb Nanda took over as Regional Executive Director (South) of NTPC Southern Region in Secunderabad. Prior to joining as head of NTPC Southern Region, he served as Executive Director of Sipat Super Thermal Power Project in Chhattisgarh.

A graduate in Electrical Engineering from Sambalpur University in Odisha, Mr Nanda joined NTPC as an executive trainee in 1981. In a 30-year-plus career in NTPC, he worked at NTPC power stations at Korba, Talcher, Farakka, Rihand and Sipat in different capacities.

He was instrumental in commissioning Unit 4 & 5 of Sipat Super Thermal Power Project Stage-II. Mr Nanda was trained in power plant operations in Britain, power plant management training in France and Switzerland and environment management training in US, apart from taking part in advanced management programmes.

NTPC is the country's largest power producer with an installed capacity of 34,194 MW through 20 coal-based, 8 gas-based (including joint venture of 3,364 MW) power stations across the country. The company has 4,450 MW operating capacity with two coal-based and one naphtha-based power stations in the southern region.

BHEL-NTPC JV becomes headless as CMD C P Singh quits

In less than three years of its incorporation, C P Singh, Chairman and Managing Director of NTPC-BHEL joint venture, has quit amid differences with the promoters, leaving the company headless.

The joint venture -- NBPPL (NTPC BHEL Power Projects Private Limited) -- was formed in April, 2008 to jointly execute EPC (engineering, procurement and construction) contracts and manufacture and supply power equipment in India and abroad.

Considering the large capacity addition plan in the country during the 11th and 12th Five Year Plans, a need was felt to expand the domestic power equipment manufacturing capability in India and this joint venture firm was formed to cater this demand.Sources in both camps blamed each other with the promoters (BHEL and NTPC) accusing the firm of non-performing, while CMD Singh alleging lack of support from the two PSUs.

When contacted, Singh confirmed the development and said "Yes, I have tendered my resignation unwillingly".

He, however, declined to elaborate.

Sources said that Ministry of Heavy Industries and PSUs was also not happy with the performance of NBPPL. This, however, could not be confirmed.NBPPL, however, claimed that it achieved outstanding performance against the MoU target with the government and said this was a great success story for a JV company conceived under a new concept on public-private partnership by the government.According to data available, NBPPL achieved a record turnover of Rs 115 crore during 2010-11 as against the target of Rs 90 crore, thus exceeding the target by 28%.

Coal India appoints N C Jha as acting Chairman following retirement of Partha S Bhattacharyya on February 28

Director Technical, N C Jha will take over as the acting chairman of Coal India (CIL) following retirement of Partha S Bhattacharyya on February 28. He will remain the acting chairman till such time a new chairman is selected. 

He joined Bharat Coking Coal -- a subsidiary of CIL in 1975 and joined Coal India in 2002. 

According to sources, the present chairman and managing director of Bharat Coking Coal Ltd (BCCL), Mr T K Lahiri has emerged the front runner for the CIL chairman’s post, but no official announcement has been been made yet by the coal ministry. The appointment of the CIL chairman is done by the President and it requires clearance of the Cabinet Committee of Economic Affairs following which it is sent to the coal ministry that makes a notification. 

Incidentally, Mr Bhattacharyya was also the CMD of BCCL before he took over as the CMD of CIL in October 2006. 

The present chairman, Mr Bhattacharyya, took over as CIL’s CMD in October 2006 prior to which he was the CMD of BCCL. Mr Bhattacharyya joined CIL as a junior management trainee in 1977 and worked in various capacities before taking over as the CMD of CIL.

Power min seeks to modify Electricity Act for smooth functioning of CEA

In view of the difficulties being faced in recruitment of officials for Central Electricity Authority (CEA), the Ministry of Power (MoP) has decided to seek the approval of the Union Cabinet to omit Section 70(4) and to amend the Section 70(5), Section 70(15) and Section 176(2)(h) of the Electricity Act of 2003, thereby providing for separate eligibility norms and service conditions for such hiring of officials.

• Once the Cabinet gives its consent, the MoP will place an amendment bill before the Parliament for approval.
• The proposed amendment is expected to facilitate the timely closure of the post of Chairperson and members of the statutory body and consequently ensure the smooth functioning of the agency. 
• Pertinently, the existing provision of Section 70(4) of the Act makes only a full time member eligible for the post of Chairperson, thereby making it difficult for the ministry to find the right candidate for the position. 
• Again, the Section 70(5) prescribes difficult eligibility criteria for the posts of Chairperson and members, while the Sections 70 (15) and 176 (2) (h) provide for the terms and conditions of service for these officials of the statutory body for the power sector.

Mr Anil Agarwal, Executive Director, NTPC Ltd, appointed as the CEO of NTPC Vidyut Vyapar Nigam

Mr Anil Agarwal, Executive Director, NTPC Ltd, has been appointed as the CEO of NTPC Vidyut Vyapar Nigam (NVVN), the wholly owned trading subsidiary of the power major. NVVN is the nodal agency for implementing the first phase of the Jawahar Lal Nehru National Solar Mission of the Government of India under the National Action Plan for climate change in order to achieve the objectives of long-term energy security and ecologically sustainable growth. Mr Agarwal joined NTPC as Executive Trainee in 1977, a company statement said. He has been associated with contracts related to power plants and also procurement of gas and coal for NTPC. 

Seven candidates to appear for an interview before Public Enterprises Selection Board on November 25 for selection of next chairman of CIL

Seven candidates will appear for an interview before the Public Enterprises Selection Board on November 25 for selection of the next chairman of Coal India Ltd.Mr Partha S. Bhattacharyya, the present Chairman, will be retiring on February 28, 2011.

According to sources, the candidates are Mr R. Mohan Das, Director (personnel and Industrial relation) of CIL; Mr T.K. Lahiry; Chairman-cum-Managing Director (CMD) of Bharat Coking Coal Ltd (BCCL); Mr V.K. Singh, CMD of Northern Coalfields Ltd (NCL); Mr B.C. Garg, CMD of Western Coalfields Ltd; Mr B.L. Bagra, Director Finance of National Aluminium Company Ltd (Nalco); Mr A.B.L. Srivastava, Director Finance of NHPC Ltd; and Mr S.K. Rishi, Managing Director of Braithwaite & Co (India) Ltd.

Equipment purchase

Meanwhile, sources say that the board of directors of Coal India Ltd (CIL) today approved purchase of 22 heavy duty dozers for open cast mining projects worth close to Rs 400 crore from L&T and Caterpillar.The purchase is covered by seven-year spares supply and maintenance warranty. L&T will supply 16 Komatsu dozers of 850hp.

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.

Mr S. K. Roy takes over as General Manager of NTPC Ltd, Korba

Mr S. K. Roy has taken over as the General Manager of NTPC Ltd, Korba. Earlier, he was heading the O&M Department of the unit. Joining NTPC in 1981 as an executive trainee, Mr Roy also worked in other NTPC plants located at Unchahar, Rihand and Singrauli, according to a NTPC Korba release.

N.N. Misra NTPC's new Director for Operations

N. N.Misra (55 Years) took over as Director (Operations) NTPC in New Delhi. A graduate in Electrical Engineering from Regional Engineering College, Rourkela in the year 1977 Shri Misra completed his schooling from the Stuwart, Cuttack passing the Indian School Certificate Examination.

As a Director(Operation), he is responsible for the Operation activities of the entire NTPC Projects.

N. N. Mishra joined NTPC in 1977 as Executive Trainee (2nd Batch) in the Electrical Department of NTPC looking after the various functions of Electrical Design, Project Engineering etc.

 He also worked as Executie Director, Northern Capital Region , Executive Director(CC&M) , Executive Director(HR) and lastly as Executive Director(OS).

Mr S. P. Singh takes over as NTPC's Human Resources Director

SP Singh took over as Director, Human Resources of NTPC Limited on Saturday. Mr. Singh is a Graduate in Electrical Engineering from Madhav Institute of Technology&Science, JIWAJI University, Gwalior (year 1973- 74) and completed his schooling from the prestigious Colvin Taluqdars College, Lucknow. As a Director (HR), Mr. Singh will head the Human Resource function of the organization along with Power Management Institute, Corporate Social Responsibility, Corporate Communication, Industrial safely, Resettlement & Rehabilitation etc. SP Singh joined NTPC in 1984 and worked for more than 25 years in Engineering Department, looking after various functions of Plant Engineering related Quality Assurance & Inspection, Project Layout engineering, Project Engineering etc. He served as ED (Corporate Contacts & Materials) and Chief Executive officer, of NTPC Electric Supply Company (A wholly owned subsidiary of NTPC) and lastly as ED (I/C) Human Resources during his tenure in NTPC.He started his career in BHEL in 1975 as Engineer Trainee and worked for 9 years at BHEL, Hardwar in the Turbogenerator Design Department.

RS Sharma may join Jindal Power - Recently retired as chairman and managing director of state-owned power utility NTPC

R.S. Sharma, who recently retired as chairman and managing director (CMD) of state-owned power utility NTPC Ltd, could join Jindal Power Ltd(JPL) as managing director, two persons familiar with the development said.JPL is a subsidiary of Jindal Steel and Power Ltd (JSPL), which is run by the family of Naveen Jindal, a lawmaker from India's ruling Congress party.

"He is joining JPL. They have a huge power generation development plan," said one of the persons, who, like the other, did not want to be identified.JSPL, which mines ore and coal, and produces steel and electricity, has already set up a 1,000MW power plant at Raigarh in Chhattisgarh.The company is developing projects with a combined capacity of 10,480MW, of which 4,380MW is thermal power and the rest, hydropower.It plans to add another 4,180MW of power generation capacity and intends to set up nuclear, wind and solar power projects.

"We want to ramp up capacity," said a senior company executive, who did not want to be identified. "There is a talent scarcity in the country. He (Sharma) is a very competent professional."Sharma declined comment.

A Jindal spokesperson said: "At present, we do not have any knowledge about Mr. R.S. Sharma joining Jindal Power Ltd."Sharma has worked for nearly 38 years in India's power sector and was also commercial director at NTPC.After his retirement, Sharma applied to the government for permission to seek private sector employment. Top executives who are retiring at India's state-run firms have to seek and receive the government's permission if they want to immediately take up posts in the private sector.R.P. Singh, former CMD of state-owned Power Grid Corp. of India Ltd, is currently executive vice-chairman of JPL.

JPL, which plans to raise $2.1 billion (around '9,430 crore) through an initial public offering, was recently in the news when the environment ministry asked the Chhattisgarh government to take action against it for starting construction of the 2,400MW plant--comprising four units of 600MW each--at a site that had received environmental clearance for only a 1,000MW project (four units of 250MW each).

Roy Choudhury to take over as NTPC chief

Arup Roy Choudhury is set to take over as new NTPC chairman on Wednesday. He is credited with turning around National Buildings Construction Corporation. His task will be to rebuild NTPC's reputation which has taken a beating in recent years. The public sector company is facing serious challenges in expediting the pace of capacity addition, raising question mark on the power ministry's ability to meet its 11th plan capacity addition target. For example, NTPC has added only 4,200 mw against its envisaged 17,000-mw target for the 11th Plan.

There is no denying that acquiring land and securing environmental clearance is becoming increasingly difficult for power projects. NTPC is also facing the same difficulties. However, some of its problems have more to do with company's own decision making than external challenges. NTPC's failure to act on time has cost it heavily in terms of project delays and unnecessary obligations on escalation charges to contractors. Barh-I is a case in point where NTPC is expected to cough up additional Rs 900-1,000 crore in escalation charges to its Russian contractor, which is about half of the original contract price. Besides, the project is also running far behind its schedule, impacting the government's capacity addition plan. The government launched ultra mega power project (UMPP) scheme in 2006 to expedite power generation capacity addition programme. NTPC was supposed to be a strong contender for these projects. The government bid out four UMPPs but NTPC could not bag even one.

What is more, NTPC came at eight position in the bidding race for the Sasan, which was the first UMPP to be taken up for bidding. In NTPC's history, company's top job has always been held by insiders. This is the first time an outsider has been selected for the top post in India's largest power generating company.

NBCC's Arup Roy Choudhury may NTPC new chairman

National Building Construction Corporation chairman Arup Roy Choudhury will take over the reins of the country's biggest generation utility NTPC from R S Sharma on September 1. Choudhury, 50, also heads the Standing Conference of Public Enterprise (SCOPE), the apex body of state-run companies. 

A civil engineer with post-graduation in management and systems, Choudhury is at present pursuing a doctorate from IIT-Delhi. He started his career in 1979 and worked in major public and private sector companies before joining NBCC in 2001 to become the youngest CEO in the public sector. 

Choudhury has his task cut out at NTPC as he will take charge when the company is at a crossroads, with plans for major expansion and forays into nuclear power. Choudhury will also inherit the legal tangle over gas supplies with Mukesh Ambani's Reliance Industries Ltd besides delays and cost over-runs in several big projects, particularly hydel units. He will also have to tackle fuel shortage and lost opportunities at home and abroad. 

Choudhury is credited with turning around NBCC. From being a sick firm, he led NBCC to a ‘Mini-Ratna' status. Those who know him describe Choudhury as a workaholic with a positive approach to work and say he combines the wisdom of private and public sectors. 

NTPC extends tenure of Mr A.K. Singhal, Director (Finance), beyond July 31

NTPC informed BSE on Thursday that it has further extended the tenure of Mr A.K. Singhal, Director (Finance), beyond July 31.

Mr Singhal took over as Director (Finance) on August 1, 2005, for a period of five years. The Ministry of Power in its order dated July 28 has said that Mr Singhal’s tenure has been extended beyond July 31, 2010, till the date of his superannuation that is January 31, 2014, or until further orders, the filing added.

NTPC western region gets new ED in K K Agarwal

Shri K.K. Agarwal has taken charge as Regional Executive Director (West) w.e.f. 15th June 2010 at Western Region Headquarters, Mumbai. Prior to joining the Western Region headquarters, he was Executive Director (Commercial) at the Corporate Office of the Company. He was also heading the National Capital Region of the Company and was CEO, NTPC Vidyut Vyapar Nigam Ltd. NTPC's Western Region is the largest in terms of installed capacity and it comprised projects including Korba (2100 MW), Vindyachal (3260 MW), Sipat (1000 MW), Kawas (645 MW), Jhanor-Gandhar (648 MW), Mouda (1000 MW) and Solapur (1320 MW).

Shri Agarwal joined NTPC in the year 1977 in the first batch of Executive Trainees of the Company and since has been associated with diverse functions including Contracts, Commercial and NESCL as well.

He is an MTech from IIT Kharagpur and B Tech in Electrical Engineering from REC Warangal.

Create separate post of CEO in PSUs, says ONGC chairman

Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) head R S Sharma has demanded the creation of a separate post of CEO in public sector companies to avoid a conflict of interest arising from the responsibility being vested with the chairman. According to the corporate governance guidelines issued by the Ministry of Corporate Affairs, a committee comprising the majority of independent directors and the chairman is to determine the performance of “individual directors, as well as the board as a whole,” Sharma said.
“In case the board is headed by the CEO (chairman also having the executive responsibility, as is the case in PSUs), a conflict of interest is inherent,” he wrote to the Public Enterprises Selection Board (PESB). He suggested that the chairman should be non-executive or the role and offices of the chairman and CEO should be separated. Sharma also demanded that the number of independent directors on PSU boards be reduced to one-third, as the board becomes “too large to manage” if filled with 50 per cent independent directors.
According to Sebi guidelines, 50 per cent of the company’s board should consist of independent directors and the market regulator does not recognize government nominee directors on the PSU board as independent directors. “For compliance with Sebi guideline, the board becomes too large to manage. Too many opinions become cumbersome in the process of decision-making in the board meetings,” ONGC Chairman and Managing Director R S Sharma said. “The situation is actually an overland for the board functioning,” he wrote. ONGC has not been able to meet the guideline as the oil ministry has not cleared the names of independent directors to be appointed on its board for years. The company now wants the strength of independent directors in case of public sector units to be reduced from 50 per cent to one-third.

D. K. JAIN is New Director (Technical), NTPC

NTPC Ltd. has announced that DK Jain has been appointed Director (Technical) in the company for a period of five years with effect from May 13, 2010. Prior to this new assignment, Jain was working as an Executive Director (Engineering), responsible for identification of sites, feasibility studies, design and detailed engineering of coal, gas and hydro power projects. Jain, 56, a graduate in mechanical engineering from lIT, Kharagpur, worked in various capacities in the areas of renovation and modernization, engineering and project execution, ever since he joined NTPC in 1978. Jain was also actively involved in the design and engineering of the first pithead super thermal power station of NTPC, at Singrauli.

REC chief P. Uma Shankar appointed as new Power Secretary

P Uma Shankar, the chairman and managing director of state owned Rural Electrification Corp. Ltd, has been appointed the new power secretary. Uma Shankar will replace incumbent Hari Shankar Brahma, who had superannuated office on 30 April. Shankar is a 1976 batch IAS officer from the UP cadre and has been heading the state-run power funding agency since March 1, 2008.

Shankar, 56, holds a masters degree in mathematics from IIT-Chennai and in social policy and planning from London School of Economics. With 31 years of experience in government institutions, Shankar takes up his new assignment at a juncture when the ministry is grappling with several issues crucial to powering the engine of economic growth.

A ministry task list for the new secretary gives top priority to reducing shortage of electricity and ensuring that projects to ramp up generation capacity in the country do not miss the revised Plan target. With demand outstripping generation or new capacity, there was overall 10% shortage and 13% peak shortage duirng 2009-10.

One of the major tasks for Shankar will be to remove bottlenecks - from transportation infrastructure to environmental clearances -- in coal supply to power stations. There is also a need bring states on the same page to kick-start reforms in their utilities and improve efficiency in the system.

While these may well be the things that the doctor may prescribe for a bureaucrat, the gas supply contract dispute between state-owned NTPC and Mukesh Ambani's Reliance Industries Ltd - pending before the Bombay High Court - may prove to be a different kettle altogether. But with over three years to go, time could be on Shankar's side.