What a better way to cripple down thriving organizations with a potential to stand up and compete in the global arena for national interests is to keep them Leaderless.
It would be startling to know that 11 of 60 Schedule-A (a typical governmental classification of the PSUs depending on their size, scale of investment and profitability) public sector units are without a boss. The post of the Chairman and Managing Director is vacant for more than six months in key organizations like NHDC, Power Finance Corporation, MMTC, National Textile Corporation and Damodar Valley Corporation. Airport Authority of India, Coal India, ONGC Videsh, BSNL, Dedicated Freight Corridor Corporation of India and MTNL have been working without a boss for less than 6 months.
On a similar note 11 of the 71 Schedule B PSUs like IRCTC, Pawan Hans, Southern Coalfields, Northern Coalfields, Western Coalfields, Southeastern Coalfields, Scooter India Ltd, Orissa Mining Development Corporation, Chennai Petrochemical Corporation, Bridge and Roof and PDIL have been waiting for the top boss.
These companies are currently being run by borrowed bosses being given additional charge.
In an era when succession planning is done months in advance so that it doesn’t affect the fortunes of the company, the absence of a top boss at 22 of country’s top PSUs shows the extent to which policy paralysis had grappled the running of the country.
The Public Enterprises Selection Board (PESB), a wing under the DoPT, which has been entrusted with the onerous task of staffing the PSUs with capable candidates well ahead in time need to take cue from the global best practices. The notable cases of succession of Cyrus Mistry at TATA, Satya Nadella at Microsoft and Vishal Sikka at Infosys would certainly be helpful. The presence of extraneous considerations which have been prevalent in almost all government quarters, seem to be the only logical reason for the supposed inefficiency despite the fact that PESB is mandated to kick-off the process 16 months well in advance.
Even the Board for Reconstruction of Public Sector Enterprises, a body established in December 2004 as an advisory body to the government on the strategies, measures and schemes for strengthening, modernising, reviving and restructuring of public sector enterprises has enough vacancies to be filled in. The position of chairman of the board is lying vacant following the demise of its last chairman, Nitish Sengupta, a former IAS officer, in November last year. Two out of three non-official members quit following the change of government and secretary to board too left following the completion of her tenure earlier this month.
Engineering Watch View
With the advent of the new government, many of the prevalent ailments inherited from the last disposition would be hopefully dispensed with. However, adequate structural mechanisms need to be established so that the running and growth of the Public Sector Undertakings is not adversely affected with, at least on the count of Leadership which drives it all.
The role of Public Sector Enterprises has increased all the more in a world struck with unrestrained corporate greed for the due deliverance of public services in a dispassionate long term manner. India, which has historically been known for her ingenious style of striking an optimal balance on all forefronts, would certainly come up with solutions and resolutions to do away with this issue as well.
Engineering Watch would work towards organizing a day-long roundtable sharing the live experiences and case studies of succession planning from across the globe which would help the administrators and policy planners to formulate effective structures and policies in place to prevent the PSUs going Leaderless.
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