Pandian prepares to resign from GAIL
When he joined the GAIL Board last November as an independent director, everybody thought DJ Pandian would dominate fellow directors and become His Master (Narendra Modi's) Voice at the company.
But now Pandian, 61, is poised to resign from GAIL, turning his back on the Indian oil industry as he heads to Beijing to join the newly set up $100bn Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) as vice-president and chief investment officer. "I am meant to report for work from April 1," Pandian tells this report.
"But I will actually join on March 14. I have not yet resigned from GAIL but will resign before leaving for China or it will be a conflict of interest.
" Pandian was appointed at AIIB on February 3, following his nomination by the Indian government. Set up by 57 countries, including India, the AIIB began operations on January 16 this year (2016).
Pandian was GSPC managing director from 2001 to 2009, Gujarat energy secretary from 2009 to 2014 and GSPC chairman from 2014 to 2015.