Jain To Replace Pande As Sail Honcho

V S Jain will take over the reigns of Steel Authority of India Ltd (SAIL) from Arvind Pande, who is due to retire on September 30.

Steel ministry sources said, the cabinet committee for appointments headed by Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee has approved the appointment of Jain as chairman. He is currently director (finance) of SAIL.

There has been much speculation regarding the appointment for this much sought after post over the last few months. The government apparently had shortlisted Jain and S K Bhattacharya, managing director Durgapur Steel Plant (DSP), for the job. A K Mishra, additional secretary in the steel ministry, had been a strong contender for the post, but the government decided to go for an internal SAIL candidate.

 

Sources said, the government decision to opt for an internal candidate is premised on the ready familiarity of the candidate with the affairs of SAIL.

There are mainly three layers for the selection process, with the Public Enterprises Selection Board (PSEB) forming the first. Then the recommendation is forwarded to the ministry of steel and finally the decision is ratified by the appointments committee.

Industry sources pointed out that Jain has an uphill task of turning around the steel behemoth, which posted a net loss of Rs 1,706.89 crore for 2001-02. In 2000-01, the net loss posted by the company was Rs 728.66 crore.

The net worth of the company, as on March 31, was estimated at Rs 2,457.4 crore.

Also on hand will be the task of finding suitors for Salem Steel Plant, Rourkela fertiliser plant, Visveswaraya Iron and Steel Ltd (VISL) and Bhilai oxygen plant, which are all up for divestment this year.

SAIL has set an August 31 deadline for accepting bids for management control in Salem. Jindal Strips and the Tata Steel-Arcelor combine were the shortlisted companies, following the tendering of expression of interest (EoI) two years ago.

Industry sources said that bids have already been placed by Deepak Fertiliser and Petrochemicals Corporation Ltd to acquire a controlling stake in the fertiliser plant.