Event: Just Transition Talk Series Part 33

Speaker: Mr. Partha Bhattacharyya | Former Chairman and Managing Director | Coal India Limited

Title of the talk: Sustainable Energy Transition

Date: 03 February 2024

About the speaker: Partha S Bhattacharyya joined Coal India Ltd (CIL) as Management Trainee in 1977and rose to become its Chairman in 2006 till his retirement in Feb 2011. He steered CIL through Miniratna in 2007, Navratna in 2008 and finally Maharatna in 2011. In 2010, Mr Bhattacharyya spearheaded the Initial Public Offer (IPO) of 10% of CIL's equity. It met with resounding success and became a landmark event. The IPO was one of the top three in the World in that year and is still reckoned the largest in India so far in most parameters. In Nov 2003, Mr Bhattacharyya took over the reins of Bharat Coking Coal Ltd (BCCL) - a perennialy loss making CIL Subsidiary - as the CMD. In less than two and a half years, the company reported its maiden profit in 2005-06 that sustained. The implementation of sale of coal through e-auction was first introduced by Mr Bhattacharyya in BCCL and extended later to all over CIL In the 90s, Mr Bhattacharyya played a key role in negotiating a large World Bank/JBIC loan for CIL as well as for securing approval of the Govt to a Capital Restructuring Plan that led to transformation of CIL from a loss making PSU to a hugely profit making company. Mr Bhattacharyya has been featured in a document published by Tata Mcgrow Hill in 2011 as one of the Transformation leaders of Corporate India. He was also recognized by Forbes Magazine as a High Achiever of 2010. He is recipient of a number of awards and accolades. Notable among these are CEO of the year 2010 from Indian Chamber of Commerce as well as World HRD Congress, Swami Vivekananda National Award -2011 & SCOPE Special Award of the Jury in 2010. He has authored WHEN COAL TURNED GOLD, published by Penguin in Aug 2018. The Foreword to the book was written by none other than Shri Pranab Mukherjee, Former President of India. The book was chosen as the Editors Pick among business books in 2018. Mr Bhattacharyya is currently the Chairman of Peerless Group Board and also Senior Advisor or Non Executive/Independent Director of several reputed companies like Haldia Petrochemicals, Adperma Ltd, Deepak Fertilisers and Petrochemicals, Smartchem Technologies, Ramakrishna Forgings, KCT, Tide water Oil & Texmaco Rail Engineering. Besides, he is a Director on the Board of Colonial Coal International Corporation, Canada. He is also Chairman of the Scrutinity Committee of the Ministry of Coal*