Govt appoints Atul Bhatt as CMD of Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Ltd

Atul Bhatt has been appointed as chairman and managing director (CMD) of disinvestment-owned steel company Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Ltd (RINL), according to an official notification.

Bhatt was the CMD of state-owned consultancy firm MECON, which offers a full range of services required to set up a project from concept to commissioning including turnkey execution.

"The President is pleased to appoint Atul Bhatt, CMD MECON as CMD in RINL...from date of his assumption of charge of the post till date of his superannuation i.e. November 30, 2024, or until further orders, whichever is earlier," the Ministry of Steel said.

On June 25, the Public Enterprises Selection Board (PESB) had recommended Bhatt's name for the post of CMD of RINL.

P K Rath retired as CMD RINL on May 31, after serving the company for 38 years.

RINL is a special steel-making player based in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh. The company, without any captive iron ore mines, owns and operates a 7.3-million tonne (MT) steel plant in the state.

The government has already put the plant in the list of central public sector companies that would be taken up for strategic disinvestment.

On January 27, the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) had given in-principle approval for 100 per cent disinvestment of government stake in RINL, along with the company's stake in subsidiaries/ joint ventures through strategic disinvestment by way of privatisation.

Even before inviting the bids, RINL has attracted the interest of major players like Tata Steel and ArcelorMittal Nippon Steel (AMNS) India who are planning to acquire the asset.