Govt weighs major board overhaul at Indian Oil, considers eliminating 3 director posts

New Delhi: The government is planning a major restructuring of state-run Indian Oil Corporation’s (IOC) board which is likely to see three whole-time director positions getting eliminated, PSU Watch has learnt reliably from multiple sources. According to officials aware of the development, the government has been considering various permutations and combinations for the Indian Oil board and the latest one doing the rounds includes eliminating the roles of Director (R&D), Director (Planning and Business Development) and Director (Pipelines).
“The latest proposal that has been sent has floated the idea of having four positions for Directors on the board of Indian Oil, apart from the Chairman,” said one of the sources quoted above. The Indian Oil board currently comprises of six whole-time directors, two government-nominated directors, and three independent directors.
Indian oil board rejig underway
In 2023, PSU Watch had reported that IOC was considering abolishing the Director (R&D) post, but the proposal was eventually dropped and Alok Sharma was appointed in September that year. A subsequent plan in mid-2025 to eliminate the Director (Pipelines) position also ran into fierce opposition from trade unions and the officers’ association, who argued that the role is essential for overseeing IOC’s more than 20,000-km network of crude oil, petroleum product and gas pipelines.
According to sources, some time back, another proposal was floated to eliminate the position of Director (HR) at Indian Oil. However, the proposal was shot down by the public sector head hunter body, the Public Enterprises Selection Board (PESB), which said that all Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs) have the position of Director (HR) and Indian Oil should not consider the removal of the post.
Several possibilities for IOC board being considered
Multiple sources said that the current framework under discussion retains only four whole-time directors — Finance, Marketing, Refineries and HR — in addition to the Chairman, government nominee directors and independent directors. However, the future of the Director (R&D), Director (Planning and Business Development) and Director (Pipelines) posts remains under consideration.
Even though the PESB has advertised vacancies for Director (R&D) and Director (Pipelines) and closed applications in August–September 2025, interviews for both positions have not yet been conducted. One group of sources said the Director (Pipelines) role may be merged with Director (Refineries). Other sources said that the Director (Planning and Business Development), Director (R&D) and Director (HR) positions could be merged into a single role — Director (Corporate Strategy).
“Unless we have an approval from the PMO (Prime Minister’s Office), it is difficult to say how exactly will the board be restructured,” said a person aware of the matter.
The restructuring plan has triggered anxiety within the organisation due to the uncertainty surrounding multiple senior positions. A source said, “If they abolish the position of Director HR, what would they do with the appointee who still has five years remaining in her tenure?” The role is currently held by Rashmi Govil.
Another person pointed out that the current Director (Planning and Business Development), Suman Kumar, may also be affected. “If the proposal to have four directors on board gets an approval, they would have to cut short the tenure of Director (Planning and Business Development),” the source said.
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