Shrikant Madhav Vaidya, the chairman of Indian Oil, has received an extension

The government granted Indian Oil chairman Shrikant Madhav Vaidya a tenure extension beyond his retirement at the end of this month.

It is unusual for the heads of state-owned enterprises to be given an extension. Vaidya would be rehired on a contract basis as soon as he retired at the end of August.

Indian Oil is the country’s largest refiner and fuel retailer. After more than two years of extraordinary volatility, global energy markets have begun to stabilise. Vaidya was Director (Refineries) at Indian Oil before becoming chairman three years ago. In May, the Public Enterprises Selection Board (PESB) recommended that the petroleum ministry seek an alternate selection procedure after rejecting all 10 applicants it interviewed to replace Vaidya.

The petroleum ministry then recommended a two-year extension for Vaidya; however, the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet has approved the extension only for one year.