PESB recommends Manoj Kumar Sharma for GAIL's Director (Projects) post

New Delhi: Manoj Kumar Sharma is set to be next Director (Projects) of GAIL (India) Limited, a Maharatna PSU under the Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas (MoPNG). He was recommended for the post by the Public Enterprises Selection Board (PESB) panel on June 13. Presently, he is serving as Executive Director and Regional Head (Eastern Region Pipelines Division, Kolkata) of Indian Oil.

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The recommendation was made during PESB Meeting No. 46/2026 held on June 13. Other candidates interviewed for the position included senior executives from GAIL, Indian Oil and BPCL, as well as representatives from regulatory and government bodies. The shortlisted candidates included GAIL executives Ajay Tripathi, Aloke Kumar Naskar, Atul Kumar Tripathi, Anupam Mukhopadhyay, Kaipil Kumar Jain, Praveer Kumar Srivastava and Rakesh Kumar Singh.

The selection process also saw participation from Biju Gopinath of BPCL, Sanjay Kumar Papneja of IOCL, Srinivas Muppaala of the Visakhapatnam Special Economic Zone and Anjan Kumar Mishra of the Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board.

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As Director (Projects), Sharma will be responsible for overseeing GAIL's project development and execution activities, including expansion of natural gas infrastructure, pipeline networks, petrochemical projects and other strategic investments.

The PESB recommendation is subject to the necessary approvals from the competent authority before the appointment is formally notified.

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