by Santanu Saikia
Mani Shankar Aiyar, you've come a long way, baby! For a man no more than a makeshift petroleum minister not so long ago to the master and commander today, the metamorphosis from unenthusiastic to overenthusiastic proponent of petroleum has been spectacular, to say the least. In philosophical terms, his could be a case-study in the unpredictability of life's ambition -- wasn't it Aiyar himself who had confessed to a posse of journalists, when he first walked into the portals of Shastri Bhawan on May 24 earlier this year, that Panchayati Raj was really where his heart lay? Didn't he say something about "holding charge temporarily" until a more permanent candidate for the job was identified? But that was then. Then, when every sniffle of a cabinet reshuffle sneezed Mani Shankar Aiyar. In the here and now, he appears to have comfortably ensconced himself in the petroleum minister's chair,growing in size and stature with every passing month.Satish Sharma, once a front-runner for the post, appears to have got lost in transition. Aiyar's meteoric rise to mature mantri must be attributed to Mani, the maverick. His quirky style, his penchant for the unpredictable has
brought a newness of approach to the otherwise downright dreary dealings within the ministry.It's been both a lesson and a tutorial for him. Doing away with laborious written briefs and opting, instead, for elaborate presentations, Aiyar has fortified himself with valuable information over the months. Ministry mandarins are known to spend long hours at work, preparing presentations on every conceivable subject concerning the petroleum sector, to satisfy the minister's voracious appetite for detail. He appears to spend all his waking hours at work and it isn't an uncommon sight to spot the Family Aiyar sharing a cozy meal at his Shastri Bhawan office where wife Suneet and daughters Suranya and Yamini (Sana, the youngest, is away at Harvard) are regular dinner guests. The ease with which he operates today is a far cry from the awkward and shy debutante who, as first-time minister, had debarred visitors and media from meandering around the ministry. But the paranoia has given way to a certain poise which is both confident and self-assured. Aiyar, perhaps, truly came of age when he was confronted with the what is regarded as the nemesis of every petroleum minister: raising the price of LPG, kerosene, diesel and petrol.
This required a combination of pragmatism and Realpolitik, and Aiyar was baptised by fire. The pressures of international price movements, the massive transfer of under-recoveries to the Indian oil majors, negotiation with the precarious coalition of the Left, convincing the finance ministry, the PMO, the media.... That he managed two price hikes in as many months is as much a credit to his powers of persuasion as it is a tribute to his political savvy. His decisive action and his ability to traverse the road less taken has won him kudos, and a few brickbats. A few weeks ago, he issued a rather extraordinary Presidential Directive to a rebellious board of GAIL directors in order to cancel the Rs 1800 crore Dahej-Uran pipeline project on grounds that one group of pipe manufacturers was being arbitrarily left out of the tender. He vetoed monopoly rights to GAIL to build cross country pipelines because he felt, rather strongly, that fostering rather than restricting competition is a prerequisite to building an efficient infrastructure. He also believes that ONGC should stick to its core E&P activities instead of diversifying into power and petrochemicals and has issued orders that the company should trim its C2/C3 extraction project at Dahej and shelve plans to build gigantic petrochemical and power projects in Mangalore. By calling for a revamp of the DGH's functioning and for an overhaul of the entire upstream regulatory system, he has exemplified his commitment to reform, even at the cost of his own ministerial powers. Of course, Aiyar's worldview falls way short of total reform. For instance, he predictably pitches for status quo -- preserving public sector monopoly and perpetuating the exclusion of the private sector from utilising import terminals, storage systems, retail networks and airport hydrant systems -- in the new Petroleum & Natural Gas Regulatory Bill. Aiyar has learnt, by trial and error no doubt, to wear many hats and don a few avatars, dictated entirely by the demands of the moment. But, there can be no denying that his diplomatic topi is the most fetching yet, in which he truly comes into his own. His experience as an erstwhile diplomat has held him in good stead, specially when he is trying to wrangle equity oil deals on behalf of ONGC Videsh Ltd (OVL). It's little wonder that his relatively-modest Shastri Bhawan office has become the second port of call, after South Block, for many a visiting dignitary. It must be pointed out, however, that this flair for foreign affairs has still to translate into anything concrete in terms of success in actually clinching a deal. In fact, the Angolan government's refusal to back a $600 million deal by OVL with Shell for a 50% stake in the lucrative Block 18 was a significant setback. His inability to convince Bangladesh so far to allow an overland pipeline from Myanmar is another source of frustration. But his recent trip to Russia -- where he canvassed with the Kremlin for a grand partnership between cash-rich Indian public sector companies and capital-starved Russian oil and gas fields -- may just turn out to be the biggest triumph for India's overseas efforts. It is hoped that President Putin's forthcoming visit to India witnesses the signing of a historic agreement between the two countries for a slew of projects translating into billion of dollars worth of investments by India in Russia. And the credit for this, should it happen, would rightfully belong to Aiyar. Recognizing the need for diplomatic efforts to push India's efforts abroad, an unchartered area earlier, he has set up an advisory committee -- under the chairmanship of Arjun Sengupta -- including a numbers of veterans as members: V.K. Nambiar, S.K. Lamba, Hamid Ansari.... In addition, he has also hired an IFS officer to head India's efforts abroad at Shastri Bhavan. The cynics, of course, are quick to dismiss this as nothing but a simplistic revival of an old boy's network, but these inputs are hardly likely to be wasted when OVL comes close to clinching a deal. Whatever the case might be, there is little doubt that Aiyar manages to think out of the box. And that itself is refreshing. There are grey areas which he needs to address. His handling of the various permutations and combinations for the complex merging of oil PSUs, for instance, requires more than a touch of sensitivity -- a sentiment not usually associated with him -- given that his decisions could have far-reaching consequences on the fate of these companies. Naivet just won't do. He needs to grow up faster, and quicker, to become the unquestioned Chanakya among the Chandraguptas, a mantle he is slowly, but surely, on the way to acquiring.
Mani Shankar Aiyar, you've come a long way, baby! For a man no more than a makeshift petroleum minister not so long ago to the master and commander today, the metamorphosis from unenthusiastic to overenthusiastic proponent of petroleum has been spectacular, to say the least. In philosophical terms, his could be a case-study in the unpredictability of life's ambition -- wasn't it Aiyar himself who had confessed to a posse of journalists, when he first walked into the portals of Shastri Bhawan on May 24 earlier this year, that Panchayati Raj was really where his heart lay? Didn't he say something about "holding charge temporarily" until a more permanent candidate for the job was identified? But that was then. Then, when every sniffle of a cabinet reshuffle sneezed Mani Shankar Aiyar. In the here and now, he appears to have comfortably ensconced himself in the petroleum minister's chair,growing in size and stature with every passing month.Satish Sharma, once a front-runner for the post, appears to have got lost in transition. Aiyar's meteoric rise to mature mantri must be attributed to Mani, the maverick. His quirky style, his penchant for the unpredictable has
brought a newness of approach to the otherwise downright dreary dealings within the ministry.It's been both a lesson and a tutorial for him. Doing away with laborious written briefs and opting, instead, for elaborate presentations, Aiyar has fortified himself with valuable information over the months. Ministry mandarins are known to spend long hours at work, preparing presentations on every conceivable subject concerning the petroleum sector, to satisfy the minister's voracious appetite for detail. He appears to spend all his waking hours at work and it isn't an uncommon sight to spot the Family Aiyar sharing a cozy meal at his Shastri Bhawan office where wife Suneet and daughters Suranya and Yamini (Sana, the youngest, is away at Harvard) are regular dinner guests. The ease with which he operates today is a far cry from the awkward and shy debutante who, as first-time minister, had debarred visitors and media from meandering around the ministry. But the paranoia has given way to a certain poise which is both confident and self-assured. Aiyar, perhaps, truly came of age when he was confronted with the what is regarded as the nemesis of every petroleum minister: raising the price of LPG, kerosene, diesel and petrol.
This required a combination of pragmatism and Realpolitik, and Aiyar was baptised by fire. The pressures of international price movements, the massive transfer of under-recoveries to the Indian oil majors, negotiation with the precarious coalition of the Left, convincing the finance ministry, the PMO, the media.... That he managed two price hikes in as many months is as much a credit to his powers of persuasion as it is a tribute to his political savvy. His decisive action and his ability to traverse the road less taken has won him kudos, and a few brickbats. A few weeks ago, he issued a rather extraordinary Presidential Directive to a rebellious board of GAIL directors in order to cancel the Rs 1800 crore Dahej-Uran pipeline project on grounds that one group of pipe manufacturers was being arbitrarily left out of the tender. He vetoed monopoly rights to GAIL to build cross country pipelines because he felt, rather strongly, that fostering rather than restricting competition is a prerequisite to building an efficient infrastructure. He also believes that ONGC should stick to its core E&P activities instead of diversifying into power and petrochemicals and has issued orders that the company should trim its C2/C3 extraction project at Dahej and shelve plans to build gigantic petrochemical and power projects in Mangalore. By calling for a revamp of the DGH's functioning and for an overhaul of the entire upstream regulatory system, he has exemplified his commitment to reform, even at the cost of his own ministerial powers. Of course, Aiyar's worldview falls way short of total reform. For instance, he predictably pitches for status quo -- preserving public sector monopoly and perpetuating the exclusion of the private sector from utilising import terminals, storage systems, retail networks and airport hydrant systems -- in the new Petroleum & Natural Gas Regulatory Bill. Aiyar has learnt, by trial and error no doubt, to wear many hats and don a few avatars, dictated entirely by the demands of the moment. But, there can be no denying that his diplomatic topi is the most fetching yet, in which he truly comes into his own. His experience as an erstwhile diplomat has held him in good stead, specially when he is trying to wrangle equity oil deals on behalf of ONGC Videsh Ltd (OVL). It's little wonder that his relatively-modest Shastri Bhawan office has become the second port of call, after South Block, for many a visiting dignitary. It must be pointed out, however, that this flair for foreign affairs has still to translate into anything concrete in terms of success in actually clinching a deal. In fact, the Angolan government's refusal to back a $600 million deal by OVL with Shell for a 50% stake in the lucrative Block 18 was a significant setback. His inability to convince Bangladesh so far to allow an overland pipeline from Myanmar is another source of frustration. But his recent trip to Russia -- where he canvassed with the Kremlin for a grand partnership between cash-rich Indian public sector companies and capital-starved Russian oil and gas fields -- may just turn out to be the biggest triumph for India's overseas efforts. It is hoped that President Putin's forthcoming visit to India witnesses the signing of a historic agreement between the two countries for a slew of projects translating into billion of dollars worth of investments by India in Russia. And the credit for this, should it happen, would rightfully belong to Aiyar. Recognizing the need for diplomatic efforts to push India's efforts abroad, an unchartered area earlier, he has set up an advisory committee -- under the chairmanship of Arjun Sengupta -- including a numbers of veterans as members: V.K. Nambiar, S.K. Lamba, Hamid Ansari.... In addition, he has also hired an IFS officer to head India's efforts abroad at Shastri Bhavan. The cynics, of course, are quick to dismiss this as nothing but a simplistic revival of an old boy's network, but these inputs are hardly likely to be wasted when OVL comes close to clinching a deal. Whatever the case might be, there is little doubt that Aiyar manages to think out of the box. And that itself is refreshing. There are grey areas which he needs to address. His handling of the various permutations and combinations for the complex merging of oil PSUs, for instance, requires more than a touch of sensitivity -- a sentiment not usually associated with him -- given that his decisions could have far-reaching consequences on the fate of these companies. Naivet just won't do. He needs to grow up faster, and quicker, to become the unquestioned Chanakya among the Chandraguptas, a mantle he is slowly, but surely, on the way to acquiring.
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