PESB advertises for director R&D at IndianOil
Despite government moves to abolish the post, the PESB has advertised the director R&D vacancy at IndianOil.
On July 15 (2025), the PESB issued a six-page advert listing the job profile, qualifications and experience for this position, which becomes vacant on March 31 (2026) when Alok Sharma retires. Sharma took charge on January 16 (2024).
Still unclear is why the PESB has advertised this post, given that the file to abolish it has reportedly reached the PMO. If the PMO decides against abolishing the post, an IndianOil candidate will most likely be selected.
"At least in the past ten years, we have seen that no external candidate has been selected," says a source working in R&D at another state-owned oil company. Unlike other state-owned oil companies, IndianOil has its own R&D division and recruits young engineers into it directly.
They typically progress to become middle and senior-level R&D managers. "IndianOil even has a separate seniority list for the R&D team," adds our source.
From IndianOil's R&D team, the two leading candidates are executive director Umish Srivastava and chief general manager Sarvesh Kumar. Srivastava handles renewable energy in the R&D division while Kumar, a chemical engineer, is now in the refining division.
Candidates from other state-owned oil companies will also likely apply. Among them are two candidates from Bharat Petroleum's R&D division: Chandrashekhar Narayanamurthy, ED; and Bharat Newalkar, CGM.
Another likely applicant is Hindustan Petroleum's R&D head Sriram Sundararaman. "As the available and eligible pool of R&D candidates is small, candidates from other disciplines, such as refining and petrochemicals, also have a chance," we hear.
In its eligibility criteria, the PESB said IndianOil candidates must have two years to retire from April 1 (2026), the date the post becomes vacant, while outsiders should have at least three years. Candidates should also have "adequate R&D/technical experience/exposure at a senior management level" in a large and preferably listed organisation.
And they should have at least five years of experience in the past ten years "in R&D pertaining to petroleum refinery/lubrication and tribology (the study of friction)/petrochemicals sector."