Dr. Avnish Jolly, Chandigarh, 3rd Octuber, 2008 :The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) has approved the proposal of Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers for the appointment of Prof. B.S. Ghuman, Dean, Faculty of Arts, Panjab University as Non-Official Part-Time Director on the Board of Fertilizers & Chemicals Travancore Ltd. (FACT) – a Government of India Undertaking, Cochin for a period of three years. The ACC comprises the Prime Minister, the Home Minister and the Minister of the concerned Ministry.
The selection process for Board of Directors of Public Enterprises is initiated by constituting a Search Committee comprising Chairman, Public Enterprise Selection Board; Secretary Department of Public Enterprises; Secretary of the Administrative Ministry; and some eminent non-official(s). The recommendations of the Search Committee are then placed before the ACC for its consideration and approval.
The induction of Non-Official Part-Time Directors on the Board of Directors of Public Enterprise has been introduced under the New Economic Policy, 1991 aiming to provide professional inputs including new perspectives and emerging paradigms in the field of public enterprises for improving the effectiveness of government policy.
The Board of Director is the top management institution of a Public Enterprise, which steers the enterprise in strategic policy areas including relating to production and material management, financial management, general management, marketing, human resource management and monitoring of performance.
FACT, India ‘s first large scale fertiliser unit was set up in 1943. FACT became a Kerala State Public Sector Enterprise on 15th August 1960 and on 21st November 1962, the Government of India became the major shareholder. The financial turnover of FACT in 2006-07 was Rs. 1492.51 crores.
FACT has a diverse product base including Fertilisers such as Ammonium Sulphate, Complex Fertilisers; Petrochemicals such as Caprolactam; and Chemicals such as Ammonia, Sulphuric Acid, Soda Ash and Nitric Acid. FACT also undertakes Engineering Consultancy and Fabrication of Equipment for establishing large and small modern fertiliser plants
Prof. B S Ghuman mainly specializes in the area of Economic Administration and Public Enterprise Management. He has published 56 papers out of which majority belong to the above-mentioned areas. He has also participated in a number of international conferences and seminars and successfully completed two international projects. He is on the Editorial Board of a couple of Professional Journals, including The Asia Pacific Journal of Public Administration, Australia and Hong Kong .
Prof. Ghuman is also Member of Fifth Pay Commission, Punjab .