In an unprecedented decision which may raise the bar when it comes to cramming politicians into PSU boards, the Department of Public Enterprises (DPE) today rejected the Petroleum Ministry’s proposal to foist Congress functionaries as independent directors on boards of all oil navratnas and miniratnas. This came a day after the Ministry tried to defend its decision following a report in The Indian Express that exposed how a majority of the names proposed were of Congress men and women. The Petroleum Ministry had restricted professionals and bureaucrats to barely one for each PSU and had packed the remaining seats with politicians. The list had been prepared with the intent to evict existing independent directors. As many as 20 Congress leaders—from ex-MLAs to state unit chiefs—were being foisted onto these boards by throwing out most professors and technocrats suggested by the DPE on June 9. In fact, the DPE rejected the Ministry’s list for the same reasons highlighted in The Indian Express report: The candidates did not meet the norms set out in the March 2004 order. For one, these guidelines do not permit ‘‘public men’’ to be appointed as independent directors. They only allow bureaucrats, technocrats, senior professors and corporate heads —with several years of experience and proven ability—as independent directors on the board of a navratna or a miniratna to ensure that the PSUs are ‘‘globally competitive and have a level playing field with the corporates.’’ Ironically, the same DPE has forwarded a list of four independent directors to the Search Committee for appointment in BHEL, two of whom are being passed off as ‘‘public men’’ because of their political links. The Committee has objected to this. Santosh Mohan Dev is minister for both DPE and Heavy Industry which administers BHEL.
