The government’s Public Enterprises Selection Board (PESB) has recommended Ashok Kumar Panda, director (finance) of Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL), for the post of chairman and managing director (CMD) of the state-run steel major, PTI reported.Panda was among 10 shortlisted candidates interviewed for the top position in India’s largest public sector steelmaking entity.The position will become vacant after the term of the current Managing Director, Amarindo Prakash, expires on April 2, 2026. Prakash assumed office as Chairman of SAIL on May 31, 2023.In a notification dated March 28, PESB said it had recommended Ashok Kumar Panda for the post of CMD. He is currently holding the position of Director (Finance) in the company.
However, the final appointment will be subject to the approval of the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC), headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, which vets all high-level appointments to the PSU.Besides Panda, several senior executives appeared in the interview process, including Manish Raj Gupta, Director (Mining) at SAIL; Alok Verma, Director-in-Charge of SAIL’s Rourkela Steel Plant; Bipin Kumar Giri, ED Mines Development; and Aneesh Sengupta, ED Projects.
Other candidates include Krishna Gopal Agarwal, Director (Finance) at Rites; Anoop Kumar Satpathy of South Eastern Central Railway; Boy Hari Prasad; And Chetan Prakash Jain.PESB has invited applications for the post of SAIL CMD in the first week of February.Panda is a seasoned finance professional with over three decades of experience in accounting, costs, budgeting, annual business planning, project business activities, treasury operations, superannuation funds, taxation and strategic management.
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He started his career with SAIL as a management trainee after obtaining a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering.