Neyveli Lignite Corporation Limited is a government-owned lignite mining and power-generating company in India. Chairman and Managing Director AR Ansari tells Sharmila Krishna how he helped raised the company’s status from a Mini Navratna to Navratna and his plans to develop a home-grown mining company for overseas operations.
Neyveli Lignite Corporation (NLC) was recently conferred the Navratna status. How do you see the journey, especially in the last three years, towards attaining this coveted title?
The moment we took over, we knew we had to upgrade the status of the company, raise the bar of production as well as financial achievements. It took us almost two years to move from the Mini Navratna to the Navratna status and it was a difficult journey. For a company which is almost 54 years old with over 19,000 employees and has been in a stagnant situation for two decades, I had to keep in mind both profits and remuneration of the employees. Initially I started working directly at the grassroots level, meeting technicians, engineers, associations, going to the lowest employee. I adopted the approach of reaching out to the families of the employees, utilising their help to motivate their spouses in order to take the company to new horizons. I reached out to the children studying at the Jawahar Education Society that has been set up by us to motivate their families to work for the company. It was a totally personal approach.
How is it going to help NLC in going forward ?
It is a golden opportunity for the board. We now have total financial autonomy to take a project of any value independently. Today we can lay down a project of power and mining collectively. In terms of joint ventures, the board can spend up to Rs. 1,000 crore. As regards our plans, we want to acquire land in coastal areas, considering land acquisition is difficult. In such areas displacement of people will be minimal. We will also be importing coal which carries a low percentage of ash and adding it to the indigenous variety from 40 to 34 per cent.
Any plans of going in for the Maharatna status ?
Not currently. For a Maharatna status, one needs a large turnover. We shall be concentrating on improving the capacity of new power and mining projects.
Being in the sector that is sensitive to environment, how have you ensured that environment norms are followed?
We strongly adhere to the norms that have been set up by the Pollution Control Board (PCB), the Ministry of Environment and Forests and the laws set up for mining. We have almost 14-15 measuring stations around the mines which are monitored round the clock. Every month, we voluntarily invite a member from the PCB to come and check the samples by themselves. In the last years, our pollution figures have been much below the standards that have been given by the PCB. Apart from this, we carry out massive plantation drives. In Neyveli itself, we have planted over 19 million trees and the growth is so dense that even houses are not visible from above. We will be doing the same in Rajasthan where we have a power project. In Uttar Pradesh, we plan to come up with a power project that will further improve our pollution norms by making it a model station.
What efforts have you made towards maintaining ecological balance in the areas where NLC runs its plants ?
While maintaining ecological balance, one has to keep in mind not to disturb the flora and fauna of the land. In Neyveli, where we have power generation up to 2,500 MW and 25 million tonne lignite production, we have created an artificial lake in the thick forest.
We are getting birds of all species here and over a hundred species have already visited the lake. We strive towards maintaining ecological balance through creating water bodies and improving forestation.
As Chairman and Managing Director of NLC, you have taken special interest in Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) activities. Could you highlight the area NLC is working on?
I come from a village at Basti in Uttar Pradesh and though money was not a problem, the environment was a constraint in my starting days. Up to matriculation, I studied under oil lamps. So for me Corporate Social Responsibility is very important.
Interestingly, today provision is made for CSR at the project stage itself. I am especially interested in improving the economic conditions in neighbouring villages. I would like to create awareness among them about sports and culture. I am specially interested in training school dropouts in these villages. These children can be trained at ITIs and then absorbed as manpower in the company. My approach has always been to see whether I can do something for the needy. We have several training programmes that are being carried out. This includes teaching Hindi, too. Adults take classes to improve speaking skills.
NLC has received several awards for its HR policies. What’s so unique at NLC and how would you like to take it forward?
I was recently invited at an HR congress in Bengaluru where I just shared my experiences. For me, HR is not a policy but an innovation. My approach was to enter every house in absentia in my corporation to help it achieve success. My definition of HR will not be found in any industrial book. I believe in motivating everybody, right from a senior employee to the juniormost in the company. It is a difficult job to motivate people in a public sector company. One has to actually reach out to their families.
The Government sector rarely performs well. How have you taken the corporation on the path of success?
Today, in the era of extreme competition, one needs to be an all-rounder. One has to work on all the areas that are grey. Indiscipline is a major problem in work ethics in such companies. These parameters need to be handled properly.
What are your future plans?
With a level playing field provided by the government, we have to compete and grow. In the process, we have changed both our vision and mission. We have diversified from lignite to coal though lignite will be our core area.
We are also making our presence felt in renewable energy resources, so we are venturing into wind and solar energy by the first quarter of 2012. We have plans to make our presence felt in the international arena, which includes South America, Argentina, Poland, South Africa and Iraq where there are lignite reserves. The dream is to have our mining company abroad since transportation is a problem with lignite.
What are the research initiatives that have been taken up by the Corporation?
We have our own in-house research institute CORD (Centre For Research) where we are working on by-products of lignite. We have acquired a patent for the technology on producing humic acid and we are ready to transfer the technology to interested entrepreneurs.
When is the Uttar Pradesh project going to begin ?
This project will generate 2,000 MW power and will have a 49-51 per cent sharing arrangement, with Uttar Pradesh receiving almost 70 per cent power. The project will be completed by 2015. We begin in six months time.
Now when you are in the final legs of your tenure as CMD of NLC, what are the goals that you wish to achieve?
I will focus on the growth and complete foundation for a 10,000 MW power project and find a place for the company in the international arena. After retirement, I plan to open a school for children, play and educate them about my life’s experiences.
Neyveli Lignite Corporation (NLC) was recently conferred the Navratna status. How do you see the journey, especially in the last three years, towards attaining this coveted title?
The moment we took over, we knew we had to upgrade the status of the company, raise the bar of production as well as financial achievements. It took us almost two years to move from the Mini Navratna to the Navratna status and it was a difficult journey. For a company which is almost 54 years old with over 19,000 employees and has been in a stagnant situation for two decades, I had to keep in mind both profits and remuneration of the employees. Initially I started working directly at the grassroots level, meeting technicians, engineers, associations, going to the lowest employee. I adopted the approach of reaching out to the families of the employees, utilising their help to motivate their spouses in order to take the company to new horizons. I reached out to the children studying at the Jawahar Education Society that has been set up by us to motivate their families to work for the company. It was a totally personal approach.
How is it going to help NLC in going forward ?
It is a golden opportunity for the board. We now have total financial autonomy to take a project of any value independently. Today we can lay down a project of power and mining collectively. In terms of joint ventures, the board can spend up to Rs. 1,000 crore. As regards our plans, we want to acquire land in coastal areas, considering land acquisition is difficult. In such areas displacement of people will be minimal. We will also be importing coal which carries a low percentage of ash and adding it to the indigenous variety from 40 to 34 per cent.
Any plans of going in for the Maharatna status ?
Not currently. For a Maharatna status, one needs a large turnover. We shall be concentrating on improving the capacity of new power and mining projects.
Being in the sector that is sensitive to environment, how have you ensured that environment norms are followed?
We strongly adhere to the norms that have been set up by the Pollution Control Board (PCB), the Ministry of Environment and Forests and the laws set up for mining. We have almost 14-15 measuring stations around the mines which are monitored round the clock. Every month, we voluntarily invite a member from the PCB to come and check the samples by themselves. In the last years, our pollution figures have been much below the standards that have been given by the PCB. Apart from this, we carry out massive plantation drives. In Neyveli itself, we have planted over 19 million trees and the growth is so dense that even houses are not visible from above. We will be doing the same in Rajasthan where we have a power project. In Uttar Pradesh, we plan to come up with a power project that will further improve our pollution norms by making it a model station.
What efforts have you made towards maintaining ecological balance in the areas where NLC runs its plants ?
While maintaining ecological balance, one has to keep in mind not to disturb the flora and fauna of the land. In Neyveli, where we have power generation up to 2,500 MW and 25 million tonne lignite production, we have created an artificial lake in the thick forest.
We are getting birds of all species here and over a hundred species have already visited the lake. We strive towards maintaining ecological balance through creating water bodies and improving forestation.
As Chairman and Managing Director of NLC, you have taken special interest in Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) activities. Could you highlight the area NLC is working on?
I come from a village at Basti in Uttar Pradesh and though money was not a problem, the environment was a constraint in my starting days. Up to matriculation, I studied under oil lamps. So for me Corporate Social Responsibility is very important.
Interestingly, today provision is made for CSR at the project stage itself. I am especially interested in improving the economic conditions in neighbouring villages. I would like to create awareness among them about sports and culture. I am specially interested in training school dropouts in these villages. These children can be trained at ITIs and then absorbed as manpower in the company. My approach has always been to see whether I can do something for the needy. We have several training programmes that are being carried out. This includes teaching Hindi, too. Adults take classes to improve speaking skills.
NLC has received several awards for its HR policies. What’s so unique at NLC and how would you like to take it forward?
I was recently invited at an HR congress in Bengaluru where I just shared my experiences. For me, HR is not a policy but an innovation. My approach was to enter every house in absentia in my corporation to help it achieve success. My definition of HR will not be found in any industrial book. I believe in motivating everybody, right from a senior employee to the juniormost in the company. It is a difficult job to motivate people in a public sector company. One has to actually reach out to their families.
The Government sector rarely performs well. How have you taken the corporation on the path of success?
Today, in the era of extreme competition, one needs to be an all-rounder. One has to work on all the areas that are grey. Indiscipline is a major problem in work ethics in such companies. These parameters need to be handled properly.
What are your future plans?
With a level playing field provided by the government, we have to compete and grow. In the process, we have changed both our vision and mission. We have diversified from lignite to coal though lignite will be our core area.
We are also making our presence felt in renewable energy resources, so we are venturing into wind and solar energy by the first quarter of 2012. We have plans to make our presence felt in the international arena, which includes South America, Argentina, Poland, South Africa and Iraq where there are lignite reserves. The dream is to have our mining company abroad since transportation is a problem with lignite.
What are the research initiatives that have been taken up by the Corporation?
We have our own in-house research institute CORD (Centre For Research) where we are working on by-products of lignite. We have acquired a patent for the technology on producing humic acid and we are ready to transfer the technology to interested entrepreneurs.
When is the Uttar Pradesh project going to begin ?
This project will generate 2,000 MW power and will have a 49-51 per cent sharing arrangement, with Uttar Pradesh receiving almost 70 per cent power. The project will be completed by 2015. We begin in six months time.
Now when you are in the final legs of your tenure as CMD of NLC, what are the goals that you wish to achieve?
I will focus on the growth and complete foundation for a 10,000 MW power project and find a place for the company in the international arena. After retirement, I plan to open a school for children, play and educate them about my life’s experiences.
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