On Public Service
In 1978, Hindustan Steel Limited was renamed Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL), restructured into an operating company to manage the country's PSU steel plants. Having graduated in Mechanical Engineering from the then REC Rourkela, I joined SAIL in 1980 and worked at Rourkela Steel Plant until 2018, in roles from Graduate Engineer (Training) to Deputy General Manager, before superannuating with much satisfaction.
Working at SAIL provides ample opportunity to meet targets and strengthen leadership. A government-owned enterprise often has a responsibility toward economic development, employment, and strategic national interests. Working in a large public institution teaches teamwork, accountability, safety, leadership, and respect for systems.
Joining a government-owned unit is not merely choosing a job; it can be choosing an opportunity to use one's professional abilities in the service of the nation and society.
On Leadership
[What he believes makes for good leadership that he didn't fully understand until well into his career. A leader he worked under whose style he consciously adopted or rejected.]
On Difficult Calls
[What he relied on to decide, when a genuinely difficult call had to be made — professionally or in civic work. A project, decision, or period that didn't go well, and what he took from it.]
On Holding the Line
[Public sector roles carry particular pressures. A moment he had to hold a line, or push back against pressure — what it cost, and whether it was worth it.]
On Change
[How management, governance, and public administration have changed since he started. What's been lost, and what he admires about how it's done now. How he thinks about the difference between working for an organization's success and working in the public interest.]
For the Next Generation
[Something he'd want to say to someone stepping into their first leadership role today, or to a young person entering public service.]
What Stays With Him
[Not the achievement with the most external recognition — which one means the most to him personally, and why. Something he still thinks about, wonders about, or wishes had gone differently.]