Grids of Change: Managing Power Games and Power Lines

Rajendra Prasad Singh was born in 1948 and grew up in a small village in Bihar. After completing his post-graduation in mechanical engineering from Banaras Hindu University, he joined Tata Steel in the early seventies. In 1977, he moved to the newly formed public sector power company, National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC). His defining moment, however, came in 1991 when he took up the challenge of reviving a fledgling power transmission company that had been set up a few years ago by the government—PowerGrid Corporation of India Ltd. In less than a decade, R.P. Singh, under the guidance of his mentors at PowerGrid, had steered the company into the list of successful public sector companies. His rise to the top position at PowerGrid was quite rapid, and he remained at its helm for close to 12 years before relinquishing office in 2008, but not before taking the company to newer heights. This is Singh’s first book. He is working on two more.
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 PowerGrid, 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.
ISBN: 9780670084227
Published by: Penguin Books India