Alka Mittal has been named as the Oil and Natural Gas Corporation’s (ONGC) interim chairperson and managing director, succeeding Subhash Kumar, who retired on December 31.
Alka Mittal has been named as the Oil and Natural Gas Corporation’s (ONGC) interim chairperson and managing director, succeeding Subhash Kumar, who retired on December 31. Mittal will serve as ONGC’s first female Chairman and Managing Director for six months, beginning January 1st, or until the appointment of a regular incumbent, whichever comes first.
“The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) has approved the proposal of the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas to entrust additional charge of the post of Chairman and Managing Director (CMD), ONGC to Alka Mittal, Director (HR), ONGC for a period of six months with effect from January 1, 2022, or until the appointment of a regular incumbent to the post, or until further order, whichever is the earliest,” the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) said.
Shashi Shanker, ONGC’s last full-time director, retired on March 31, 2021, and no replacement was found. As a result of his seniority on the PSU’s board of directors, Subhash Kumar was assigned the additional responsibility of chairman and managing director.
Who is Alka Mittal?
Mittal, the first woman to join the board of the Maharatna PSU, shattered the proverbial glass ceiling on November 27, 2018. According to her LinkedIn profile, she has a postgraduate degree in economics from Dehradun’s MKPPG College and a Ph.D. in business from Jamia Millia Islamia.
Female CEOs in Indian Public Sector Undertakings
Mittal is not the only woman on the ONGC board of directors, since Pomila Jaspal was appointed by the Public Enterprise Selection Board (PESB) (Finance). Jaspal presently serves as the Director (Finance) at ONGC’s Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd. (MRPL).
Two women are in charge of public-sector enterprises in the oil and gas industry (PSUs). On September 1, 2021, Alka Mittal became the first woman to lead an oil and gas exploration and production company in India, while Vartika Shukla became the first woman to lead an engineering consultancy firm Engineers India Limited (EIL). Nishi Vasudeva was the first woman to lead an oil refinery and fuel marketing firm, Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd (HPCL), in 2014.
