Grids Of Change Managing Power Games And Power Lines

by Rajendra Prasad Singh

Being the head honcho of a public sector enterprise is one of the most exacting or testing positions in the corporate world. Heading an archetypal corporate set-up where strengthening the bottom line is your sole objective is one thing; leading a corporation that has a crucial public service to perform while continuing to increase profits for its owners—the Government of India—is another. As chairman of Power Grid.,one of India's leading utility companies, R.P. Singh was on the inside track of Indian business, government and policy for 12 long years—years spent not just reshaping power networking in India but also raising the benchmark in corporate governance. It wasn't always easy. Conservative, anti-reform forces had to be contested, rivals fought off, political and other influences contained. This book tells the story of how it was done. R.P. Singh reveals the inside workings of India's government-owned business sector, the saga of how a start-up with borrowed staff and facilities was built into a public-sector jewel and one of the leading power grid operators of the world. This is a fascinating business book: part memoir, part management manual, part survival guide.

155 pages, Hardcover

First published December 14, 2009

About the author

Dr. Rajendra Prasad Singh (R. P. Singh) has a career spanning approximately 40 years and has served in the power sector in the fields of generation, transmission, large system operation and distribution. He was the Chairman and Managing Director, Power Grid Corporation of India Limited for more than 11 years. He has served in NTPC Limited and Tata Iron & Steel Company as well. He also serves as a consultant to the World Bank. He was also the Executive Vice Chairman of Jindal Power Limited (JPL). As the Executive Vice Chairman of JPL, he was responsible for the overall management of the Company.

Dr. R.P. Singh holds a bachelor's of science degree in engineering (mechanical) and a master's of science degree in engineering (machine design) from the Banaras Hindu University. He is a fellow of the Indian National Academy of Engineering. He was conferred the degree of doctor of science (Honoris Causa) from the Banaras Hindu University.

Dr. Singh is also the Chairman of the board of governors of the National Institute of Technology, Patna and the Indian Institute of Technology, Guwahati. He was the Chairman and founder member of the International Group of Very Large System Operators (i.e., countries having a generation capacity of 60,000 MW or more) and the President of the International Council of Large Electric Systems, India.

He has received several awards including the Green Award 2006 from the World Bank. He was also honored with the Dr. Shrikrishna Sinha Award 2005 for outstanding contribution in the Indian power sector in general and for the development of the rural and urban electricity infrastructure in Bihar in particular. Further, he received the SCOPE Award for excellent and outstanding contribution to Public Sector Management - Individual Category for 2005-06.

Reviews

[Sreedhar Goud · Rating 2 out of 5]

Got to know how PSUs function and how critical they are to a big country like India. The author took some bold steps to make the powergrid what it is today.