SM Vaidya appointed as the new Chairman, Indian Oil

New Delhi: Shrikant Madhav Vaidya's appointment as next Chairman of Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL), a Maharatna PSU under the Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas, got through on Tuesday. According to an order issued on Tuesday, Vaidya has been appointed on the post for a period with effect from the date of his assumption of charge of the post on or after July 1, till the date of his superannuation, i.e. August 31, 2023, or until further orders, whichever is earlier. He is currently serving as Director (Refineries) in the same organisation. Vaidya had taken over as Director (Refineries) of Indian Oil on October 14. Prior to the inclusion in the IOCL the Board of Directors, he was serving as Executive Director (Operations), Refineries Division.

Earlier, the PSU Watch had reported that Vaidya was recommended for the post of Chairman of IndiaOil by a PESB panel on December 13, 2019. He was selected from a list of five candidates, who were interviewed by the selection panel.

Education & background

Vaidya is a graduate in Chemical Engineering from NIT Rourkela and holds a diploma in Business Management. He has over 33 years of extensive experience in refining and petrochemicals operations. Vaidya has had a decade-long association with India's largest cracker plant, the Panipat Naphtha Cracker Complex, right from its commissioning stage. Panipat Naphtha Cracker Complex is one of the major drivers of IOCL's petrochemicals business.

He is also a Director on the board of Chennai Petroleum Corporation Limited (CPCL) and the 60 MMTPA (million metric ton per annum) Ratnagiri Refinery & Petrochemicals Limited (RPCL). Vaidya has been recommended for the post of new Chairman of Indian Oil from the list of five candidates, who were interviewed by the selection panel. All five candidates who were on the list were from Indian Oil.

Role and achievements

Vaidya joined IndiaOil in 1987 and worked in various positions at Panipat Refinery. While serving at Refineries Division, his role was to ensure healthy gross refining margins, smooth supply of products and eco-friendly business operations. During his tenure, the Refineries Division registered a record performance on all major physical parameters. He also steered the timely roll-out of BS-VI grade auto fuels in NCR. He has expanded green-energy options with bio-fuel and ethanol-blended fuel-related projects in refineries.

Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IndianOil)

Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL), commonly known as IndianOil is an Indian government-owned oil and gas company headquartered in New Delhi. It is the largest commercial oil company in the country. It is ranked 1st in Fortune India 500 list for the year 2016 and 117th in Fortune Global 500 list of world's largest companies in the year 2019. As of March 31, 2017, IndianOil's employee strength is 33,135, out of which 16,545 are in the officer cadre. It is India's largest downstream oil company, with a workforce of more than 33,000 employees, a turnover of Rs. 506,428 crore and a net profit of Rs. 21,346 crore in 2017-18.

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