HPCL gets new chief, four more large PSUs in queue

The petroleum selection board has put out ads for chiefs of ONGC, NTPC, BPCL and NHPC

- Rituraj Baruah & Utpal Bhaskar

The process of appointing new honchos for five large state-owned enterprises with combined revenue of more than 18 trillion found its first appointee on Thursday. Vikas Kaushal, a partner and chairman at consultancy Kearney's India operations, was appointed chairman and managing director (CMD) of Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd (HPCL), India's third-biggest oil marketing company by revenue, by the appointments committee of the Union cabinet for a period of five years.

The move marks the first instance of a private sector executive being appointed head of an oil and gas PSU. To be sure, Kaushal earlier worked in HPCL along with other PSUs such as Indian Oil Corporation, Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL) and NTPC in senior executive positions.

Meanwhile, advertisements by Public Enterprises Selection Board (PESB) have sought applications for CMD posts in four other central public sector units (PSUs)—Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Ltd (ONGC), NTPC Ltd, BPCL, NHPC Ltd.