Oil India Ltd chairman and managing director Ranjit Rath is among more than half a dozen candidates who have applied for the top job at state-run Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC), according to reports from Business Standard and The Economic Times. Rath, 54, is seeking the ONGC chairman and managing director's post for a second consecutive year after the government relaxed eligibility criteria, including the maximum age for the position. The government had raised the maximum entry age to 59 years, making Rath eligible for the second time after being shortlisted last year but not selected.
ONGC Videsh Ltd managing director Rajarshi Gupta, who became eligible after the government raised the maximum entry age to 59 years, is the senior-most among all internal candidates applying for the position. As reported by Business Standard, other internal candidates include ONGC's director for technology and field services Vikram Saxena, director for strategy and corporate affairs Satyam Kumar, and OVL's director for operations Dulal Halder. External candidates include MRPL director (finance) Devendra Kumar and Indian Oil Corporation's (IOC) director for marketing S P Shrivastava.
ONGC's current incumbent Arun Kumar Singh will complete his extended tenure on December 7, according to Business Standard reports. Singh, who retired as chairman and managing director of Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd in October 2022, took charge of ONGC on December 6, 2022, after the government relaxed eligibility criteria. The government granted him a rare one-year extension last year, allowing him to continue as ONGC chairman until December 6, 2026, by which time he will be over 64 years old.
The Public Enterprises Selection Board (PESB) invited applications for the post, which will fall vacant on December 7, with applications closing on July 22. As reported by Business Standard, the selection will be made by a search-cum-selection committee constituted by the oil ministry instead of the normal PESB selection process. The revised age limit marks a departure from norms followed for most board-level appointments in Central Public Sector Enterprises (CPSEs), with tenure conditions also differing from the prevailing practice of appointing PSU chiefs until age 60.
The government had initiated a search for a regular chairman last year, with PESB inviting applications in April 2025 and more than a dozen candidates applying, including OIL's Rath. However, as reported by Business Standard, no interviews were held, and the selection process remained inconclusive without any official explanation. ONGC had remained without a full-time chief between April 2021 and December 2022, during which the company was headed by three interim chairmen before Singh's appointment.
