Arun Kumar Singh takes over as new Chairman and MD of BPCL

New Delhi: Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL), the State-owned oil and gas corporation announced Arun Kumar Singh as its new Chairman and MD, and Vetsa Ramakrishna Gupta (VK Gupta) as the new Director (Finance) of India's second-largest fuel marketing company.

Singh was selected by government headhunter Public Enterprise Selection Board (PESB) in May this year to fill the vacancy created by the retirement of D Rajkumar in August 2020. Initially, it was thought that the government wants the new Chairman to be named after the new management takes over following the privatisation of BPCL. But revamped the PESB on May 10, interviewed prospective candidates and selected Singh, who was Director (Marketing) in BPCL, for the position.

The Cabinet Committee on Appointments (ACC) approved his appointment earlier this week and Singh has since taken over the charge. The government is selling its entire 52.98 per cent stake to a strategic buyer. Three groups, including Anil Agarwal's Vedanta Group, have put in an expression of interest for buying the stake. The sale was to conclude within the 2020-21 fiscal, but the outbreak of pandemic has delayed the privatisation.

In a statement, BPCL said Singh has more than 36 years of experience in the oil and gas industry. "A Mechanical Engineer by qualification, Singh was earlier Director (Marketing) on the board of the company, holding additional charge of Director (Refineries) and Director (Finance)," it said. He is also the Chairman of Indraprastha Gas Ltd, the city gas joint venture of BPCL and GAIL (India) Ltd. He is also a Director on the board of Bharat Gas Resources Ltd, the gas subsidiary of BPCL.

The corporation said prior to his elevation to the board, Vetsa Ramakrishna Gupta was the CFO of the company. Gupta replaces N Vijayagopal who superannuated on July 31. "He has handled various functions of finances at BPCL for more than two decades now. He has a rich experience in the field of corporate accounts, risk management, budgeting, business plan, treasury operations etc," it said.