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.