Recently, the Union government sent out invitations to appoint a new Chairman in the Maharatna PSU Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL) amidst the air of uncertainty over the continuance of the incumbent chairman, Mr. Shrikant Madhav Vaidya.
Mr. Vaidya, who took over as the chairman of India’s biggest oil company on July 1st, 2020, was to retire on August 31, 2023, when he attained the superannuation age of 60 years – but was “re-employed on a contract basis” for one year “beyond the date of his superannuation i.e with effect from September 1, 2023, till August 31, 2024,” according to an official order dated August 4, 2023.
Through an advertisement posted on its website, the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas is now seeking fresh applications from engineers, chartered accountants and cost accountants with postgraduate management degrees from leading institutions and having at least 5 years of experience in leadership roles, by July 3. The age eligibility cut-off has been set at not more than 58 years for internal candidates and 57 years for outsiders with 60 years as the age for retirement.
IOCL refines crude oil into products like petrol, diesel, liquid petroleum gas (LPG), and aviation turbine fuels and also makes petrochemicals and retails CNG. Besides being the backbone of Indian fuel supplies, IOCL is pivoting India’s energy transition, the shift from fossil-based systems of energy production and consumption, including oil, natural gas, and coal, to renewable energy sources like wind and solar, as well as lithium-ion batteries.
