The government has given a one-year post-retirement extension to Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) chairman Shrikant Madhav Vaidya - a rare event for anyone on board of a state-owned company.
"The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) approved the proposal of the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas for re-employment on a contract basis of Shri Shrikant Madhav Vaidya, Chairman, Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL) for a period of one year beyond the date of his superannuation ie with effect from September 1, 2023, till August 31, 2024, or till the appointment of a regular incumbent to the post, or until further orders, whichever is the earliest," an official order said.
Vaidya, who took over as chairman of IOC on July 1, 2020, has turned 60 and as per the rules was to superannuate from service at the end of the month. But now, he will continue for one more year as the head of India's largest oil company.
This is one of the very rare occasions when a director on the board of a PSU has been given an extension of service beyond his retirement age.
No chairman of a Maharatna PSU has been given an extension beyond 60 years in recent years. In fact, the government had earlier this year denied Ranjan Kumar Mohapatra an eight-month extension as director (human resources) of IOC till his superannuation age.
The oil ministry recommended an extension of service for Vaidya after government headhunter PESB in May did not make any recommendation for the next chairman of IOC after interviewing 10 candidates including Chennai Petroleum Corporation Ltd (CPCL) managing director Arvind Kumar.
After the interview, PESB in an order on May 16 stated, "The Board did not recommend any candidate and advised the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas to take an appropriate course of further action including search-cum-selection committee or as deemed appropriate for the selection with the approval of the competent authority."
This is the second instance in recent months where PESB did not find a suitable candidate for the top job at blue chip oil companies and retired personnel were given charge. On June 3, 2021, PESB did not find anyone suitable from nine candidates, including two serving IAS officers, to head ONGC.
