NDA govt has no problem with key UPA appointees in PSUs; confirms DK Sarraf as ONGC chief

ONGC chief DK Sarraf

FINALLY the NDA government has confirmed Dinesh Kumar Sarraf's appointment as chairman of Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) after completion of a year-long probation period.
There were rumours that the NDA government is not willing to continue with UPA appointees in top public sector positions...
which were decided towards the fag end of the Manmohan Singh government.
Sarraf, 57, was appointed to the post by the UPA government in August 2013. He took charge on March 1, 2014. Under government rules all board-level appointments, including that of chairman, in public sector companies have to be confirmed after a year.
Sarraf would retire in September 30, 2017 at the age of 60. He moved back to ONGC from ONGC Videsh, the company's overseas investment arm. Before moving to OVL as MD, he was director (finance) in ONGC. Under his watch, OVL bought stakes in overseas oil and gas fields for over $11 billion.
ONGC had been under close scrutiny after the Modi government took over, with oil minister Dharmendra Pradhan personally monitoring the company's performance.
Directors were made individually responsible for progress in their respective areas, a move that yielded results when ONGC in the fiscal ending March 31 reversed a seven-year decline in its crude oil production.
DK Sarraf assumed the charge of managing director and CEO of OVL in September 2011. While at the helm of OVL, Sarraf pursued a vigorous policy of acquisition and brought new energy to the overseas arm of ONGC. During the past one year, OVL under him inked four deals worth over $11 billion and the latest being the acquisition of US energy giant Anadarko Petroleum Corp's 10 percent stake in a Mozambique gas field for $2.64 billion.
An alumnus of Delhi University’s prestigious Shri Ram College of Commerce, Sarraf holds graduate and post graduate degree in commerce from the same University. He is serving as an associate member of the Institute of Cost and Works Accountants of India and the Institute of Company Secretaries of India.
With a vast experience of almost three decades in the oil and gas industry, Sarraf has carved a niche for himself. He started his oil and gas career in Oil India Limited and worked there till 1991. At OIL, Sarraf contributed in various facets of E&P at oil field level.
After joining ONGC in 1991, he showed his real power and handled various key assignments at corporate offices. He restructured ONGC from a statutory commission into a commercial corporation. He played a pivotal role in partial divestment of ONGC by the Government of India.
He was given the Best CFO Award in Oil & Gas sector in India by CNBC in 2009 and 2011 as a recognition to his good works and leadership acumen.