Applications invited for PESB chief post

DEPARTMENT of Public Enterprises has invited applications to select the chairman of Public Enterprises Selection Board (PESB) as the post is due to fall vacant in November. The cabinet secretary-led committee to select chairperson of the government’s headhunter will have an additional principal secretary to Prime Minister as one of the members.
The panel will continue to have top bureaucrats of three key departments - Secretary (Personnel), Secretary (Finance) and Secretary (Public Enterprises) — as its members. Earlier, there was no...
nominee of the PMO in the panel to recommend the name of the PESB chief and members, but the selection committee was reconstituted in June. The PESB is responsible for top-level appointees — chairman, managing director or chairman—cum—managing director, and functional director —in the central public sector undertakings.
The PESB is a professional body with a large measure of autonomy, constituted by the government for selection and placement of candidates for Board—level positions in the central public sector enterprises. It consists of a chairperson and three full—time members. According to the criteria laid down for the post, the applicant shall be a distinguished serving or former chief executive of a public sector or private sector or joint sector enterprise. Moreover, he/she must be a distinguished person with experience in selection of top management personnel. The person must be a distinguished serving or former civil servant with experience in management of public sector enterprises or in areas of finance, industry and economic affairs. The applicant should not be less than 55 years of age. If working or having worked in the Central or state government, he/she should have held a post equivalent to the Secretary to the Government of India for at least one year. If holding or having held a post in any Central/state public sector undertakings or private sector, the applicant should have occupied a post at the level of chairman-cum managing director or managing director at least for a period of two years on a regular basis. A Chairperson in PESB holds office for a term of three years subject to the age limit of 65 years.
The PESB has been set up with the objective of evolving a sound managerial policy for the CPSE and, in particular, to advise Government on appointments to their top management posts. Government has also recognised the need to develop a cadre of professional managers within the public sector. Hence unless markedly better candidates are available from outside, internal candidates, employed in the CPSE, will be preferred for appointment to board level posts. However, if internal candidates are not available, preference will be given to candidates working in other PSEs, either in the same area of business or in other areas. Mobility of managerial personnel among PSEs within the same sector or group, failing which mobility within the public sector as a whole will be encouraged, subject to certain limitations.