ONGC Chairman’s Tenure Gets Extended

New Delhi: The tenure of Arun Kumar Singh as ONGC Chairman has been extended by one year, keeping him in the position until December 6, 2026. This decision was approved by the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet under Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Singh assumed charge as ONGC Chairman in 2022. Appointing a senior official close to 60 years of age as chairman of a government blue-chip company is unprecedented.

The government appears to have made this decision to stabilize the company’s profits. Extending Singh’s tenure is notable because, despite multiple applicants for the ONGC Chairman post, the Public Enterprise Selection Board (PESB) did not conduct interviews for any of them. Interestingly, PESB did conduct interviews for candidates applying for the subsequent GAIL Chairman position and made selections accordingly.