Verma to modernize and expand SAIL as per global benchmarks

Chandra Shekhar Verma, the newly appointed 51-year-young and dynamic Chairman at Steel Authority of India (SAIL) has come with a mission. And the mission is to lead SAIL up on modernization and expansion path to further heights. Those who know Verma deeply will vouch that if CS (Verma) has made up his mind, it got to be accomplished.
Verma is no novice in the field! In fact, he is a seasoned champion who showed his mettle as Director (Finance) of Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd. (BHEL) before coming to take the responsibility as Chairman, SAIL. BHEL is India’s largest engineering and manufacturing enterprise in the energy-related/infrastructure sector.
Verma is still remembered in BHEL for his prudent financial management and strategic deployment of scarce resources and strengthening the financial position of BHEL. Earlier, he had the distinction of spearheading the joint venture initiatives of the company with various state GENCOs. His efforts resulted in the signing of four such agreements with Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra that would leverage the scale of 7 super critical thermal power plants of BHEL. He also played a key role in the finalization of various technology agreements of BHEL with Alstom, Siemens, GE and Sheffield Forgemasters.
It is worthwhile to know that SAIL has recently been accorded the status of ‘Maharatna’ by the Government of India and is currently preparing for divestment of 10% of its equity in two tranches and is implementing a Rs. 60,000-crore modernization and expansion plan in its plants and mines. With Verma at helm and his vast knowledge and experience in support, SAIL is poised to attain greater heights.
Men with mission act differently! Though it is just about a month since Verma has taken up the prestigious responsibility as SAIL’s Chairman he has already started moving to accomplish his mission. His recent visits to Bhilai and IISCO Steel Plants were a step in this direction. During these visits, he interacted with a cross section of employees and took stock of several projects being implemented under SAIL’s modernization and expansion plans.
Interacting with team members, Verma underlined the need to tap new and unexplored markets and also highlighted the potential for rolling out new product grades for import substitution in sectors such as power, nuclear, defense and space. While appreciating SAIL team’s efforts for their consistent performance, immense talent and dedication, he discussed ways to increase the company’s labour productivity to meet global benchmarks. He laid thrust on the need to increase the proportion of value added steel to the product-mix of SAIL and called for a milestone-based monitoring system in work.
Verma also appreciated the support extended to him by the state governments with regard to acquiring leases for mining.
Career Profile
CS Verma today has 29 years of experience of working in highly competitive corporate environment. Besides 5 years as Director – Finance at BHEL, Verma’s career profile also covers stints as Director (Finance) of ITI Ltd., as Group General Manager of Indian Railway Finance Corporation, and as General Manager of Delhi Stock Exchange (DSE), besides experience of working in a Financial Institution for about nine years.

Fellow Member of the Institute of Company Secretaries of India (FCS) and of the Institute of Cost & Works Accountants of India (ICWA), Mr. Verma is a Commerce post-graduate with a Master’s degree in Business Administration and Bachelor’s degree in Law & Legislatures. He has received many awards during his career, including ‘Best CFO Award’ of CNBC-TV 18 in the infrastructure sector for the year 2008-09 and ‘Top Rankers Excellence Award for Best Professional’ for the year 2008. During his tenure in BHEL, the company received the first prize in ‘ICWAI National Award for Excellence in Best Cost Management Practices’.