Alka Mittal Becomes First Woman To Be Appointed as ONGC Chairperson & MD

Mittal is the senior-most Director in ONGC and was also the first woman to be appointed to its board in 2018.

Alka Mittal, Director (HR), ONGC.

(Photo: ONGC/Altered by The Quint)

ONGC’s Director of Human Resources Alka Mittal has become the first woman to head the energy major after she was given additional charge as the Chairperson and Managing Director (CMD) on Monday, 3 January, according to a report by news agency ANI.

Mittal will hold the additional charge as the CMD for six months or until a permanent chairperson is appointed, whichever is earlier.

She is set to replace Subhash Kumar, whose term superannuated on 31 December 2021. Kumar was also the Director (Finance) of the company.

Who is Alka Mittal?

Mittal is the senior-most Director in ONGC and was also the first woman to be appointed to the company’s board in 2018.

She has also been on the board of ONGC Mangalore Petrochemicals Limited (OMPL) as ONGC Nominee Director since August 2015.

In an order dated 3 January, the company’s Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT), said, "The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) has approved the proposal of the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas for entrustment of the additional charge of the post of Chairman and Managing Director (CMD), ONGC to Alka Mittal, Director (HR), ONGC for a period of six months with effect from January 1, 2022, or till the appointment of a regular incumbent to the post, or until further order, whichever is the earliest."

Prior to joining as the Director of Human Resources, Mittal held the post of Chief Skill Development (CSD) of the company.

According to ONGC's website, Mittal "streamlined the activities in her capacity as CSD and brought in uniformity in the working of the Skill Development Centres of ONGC. During this period, she has also implemented the National Apprenticeship Promotion Scheme (NAPS) in ONGC engaging more than 5,000 apprentices across all work centres."

Previously, she worked as Head CSR at Corporate Office and took up major CSR projects across India.

A postgraduate in Economics, MBA (HRM), and a Doctorate holder in Commerce and Business Studies, she joined ONGC as a Graduate Trainee in 1985.

The company in a statement said, “Anurag Sharma, Director (Onshore) has been entrusted with an additional charge of the post of Director (Finance) with effect from January 1, 2022."

As per a PTI report, the government’s head-hunter Public Enterprise Selection Board (PESB), in June, interviewed nine candidates, including two IAS officers, for Shanker’s post, but did not find anyone suitable.

(With inputs from PTI, ANI.)