ONGC is celebrating the 12th Subir Raha Memorial Lecture. Both Chairman ONGC and D(HR) were on Twitter commending the contribution made by Mr. Raha. It was stated that his vision which enabled the organization to reach the current heights.
Well it indeed set me personally down the memory trail. There was a time I covered the Petroleum Ministry; it was a new beat for me. I conducted an interview with a former central petroleum minister and subsequently met late Mr. Subir Raha, Chairman ONGC. I asked him to shed some light about the minister whose views had been aired on a website, so that the perspective of both could be made available to the general public. I was puzzled to observe that the Petroleum Minister and the CMD of ONGC had quite contrasting viewpoints. They seemed to be at odds with each other. It was perhaps this discord which resulted in Mr Subir Raha not getting an extension of service at ONGC.- Well News-I.P. readers now know me, Ansari Z. A. as its Editor In Chief.
Well many readers today, may not be aware that Subir Raha’s greatest trait was his die hard patriotism. He single-handedly created conditions that prevented a Private Oil Company from buying out a leading PSU Oil Company. He ensured that Private Sector Monopoly did not come to pass. Today’s leaders of PSU Oil and Gas Companies lack his stature.They would never dream to voice what is good for the Sector and Indian Economy. They are content in merely following orders of Bureaucrats and Political Bosses. Many are ready to squander the value of priceless national assets.
In the 2000s, Subir Raha had famously proposed the idea that India needed a Unified Oil and Gas company with presence in the entire Hydrocarbon Chain, not just in upstream or downstream. He believed that India should have a powerful PSU Company capable of competing with companies like Chevron, BP, and Exxon etc. These momentous ideas were neither appreciated by the government nor by Private Oil and Gas Companies.Interestingly, his thinking remains relevant even today.
Many have said that Subir Raha did not work according to his position but focused on higher roles. It is also said that he wanted to create a massive Indian Integrated Oil and Gas Major and seize the post of Secretary of MoP&NG. If only this had happened. It would have been a significant new experiment for India. Perhaps this was also a reason of his not receiving an extension.The bureaucrats and civil service system felt threatened.
Another of Subir Raha’s distinctive feature was that he was not like many of today’s Chairmen and MDs, who tango to the tune of ministry officials, heeding to every request. He never got along with the then minister but proved that much of what he said was correct. There was this incident regarding a proposal to include DGH in the ONGC board, Subir Raha opposed it saying there would be a ‘conflict of interest’ if it was included.Ultimately, a promising Corporate leader was not allowed to show his full prowess and an extension for Chairmanship refused. Within the Organizations he led in various positions he was known as a hard task master, for his Grand Vision and more importantly the Clear Cut Path he proposed to achieve goals.
Even today, people in the Corporate World remember Subir Raha as a true lion in the PSU sector who challenged bureaucrats and politicians alike. A person with such revolutionary ideas which would have easily propelled India into a commanding heights of Oil & Gas Economy. The much sought after Oil Security and Price Democracy would have been achieved long ago….(By…Z.A.Ansari)