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To decentralise decision-making and facilitate more informed investment decisions, the Centre has restructured the board of Steel Authority of India (SAIL).
But experts say that the degree of autonomy which the new board members will command will determine the efficacy of the move.
The Appointments Committee of Cabinet approved the restructuring of the SAIL board on Friday. After the approval, four posts of the Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) of Integrated Steel Plants (ISPs) of SAIL are to be elevated as Functional Directors, by designating them as Directors-in- charge of Bokaro, Rourkela, Bhilai and one Director-in-charge jointly for Burnpur and Durgapur steel plants.
The restructuring also involves merging the functions and duties of the post of Director (Raw Materials and Logistics) and Director (Projects, and Business Planning) with the post of Director (Technical) and its consequent re-designation as Director (Technical, Projects and Raw Materials). An official statement said the restructured Board of Directors of SAIL will consist of Chairman, Director (Finance), Director (Commercial), Director (Technical, Project and Raw Materials), Director (Personnel), Directors in-charge of ISPs, Non-official Directors as per the Companies Act 2013 and 2 Government Nominee Directors as per the Department of Public Enterprises policy.
Degree of autonomy
Commenting on the move, ACR Das, Former Industrial Adviser, Ministry of Steel, said: “Empowering and re-designating the CEOs of the ISPs under SAIL is a welcome decision, and will go a long way in improving the performance of the ISPs. Final outcome will however, depend on the extent of decentralisation and delegation of powers to the Directors In-charge, the more the delegation, better it is.”
Also read: SAIL reports highest ever August sales
“Further, unless substantial powers with respect to raw material and project related decision making is delegated to the Directors In-charge, the responsibilities assigned to the newly created post of Director (Technical, Projects and Raw Materials) are expected to be far in excess and unsurmountable,” Das added.
It is expected that the elevation of CEOs (now Directors in-charge of ISPs) into the company board as Functional Directors would lead to a greater degree of decentralisation of decision making within the company. It will also give more say to CEOs in the future investment decisions that will be made by the SAIL board.
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