The appointment of the next Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) of Cochin Shipyard Ltd has been delayed after the Public Enterprises Selection Board (PESB) decided not to recommend any candidate for the top post and referred the matter back to the government for further action.
According to information available on the PESB website, the board interviewed Harikrishnan S, Director (Operations), Cochin Shipyard Ltd, and Biju George, Director (Shipbuilding), Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Ltd on Friday. However, PESB stated that it “did not recommend any candidate for the post” and advised the administrative ministry to take an “appropriate course of further action,” including the option of constituting a Search cum Selection Committee (SCSC).
Cochin Shipyard, India’s leading state-owned commercial shipbuilder under the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways, has been functioning without a full-time CMD since the retirement of Madhu Nair on January 31 after a decade-long tenure at the helm.
In the interim, the ministry has assigned V J Jose, Director (Finance), with the additional charge of CMD until a regular appointment is made.
The PESB decision has now opened up the possibility of former CMD Madhu Nair returning to the top position through the Search cum Selection Committee route, according to a report by ET Infra.