The names of the Ranbaxy chief, the former SBI chairman and that of YRK Reddy, were approved by the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) recently, as suitable non-functional directors for ``navratna'' SAIL. The names now require the stamp of approval of Union steel and mines minister, Naveen Patnaik.

Patnaik is currently touring the drought-hit districts of his home state, Orissa and is not expected in the capital till early next week. The minister is unlikely to find fault with the preferences of the ACC, since the panel only picks directors suitable for ``navratna'' boards, from among lists forwarded by the administrative ministries.

Should all go well, SAIL will have new blood on its 15-member board and so the promised ``navratna''empowerments, by the end of the month. The Rs 14,624 crore-turnover public sector enterprise's first navratna inductment, Indian Statistical Institute director Atul Sharma, has been attending board meetings for some time.

Sharma was the choice of the United Front government, which had reservations about three other non-functional directors preferred by former steel minister Birendra Prasad Baishya. Baishya did not forward a second list to the ACC, as the national elections had already been announced by then. He felt that the new government should have the right to choose directors for state-owned enterprises.

The induction of four non-functional directors from among industry leaders and professionals, is the prerequisite for attaining the navratna entitlements, granted to 12 blue chips in the PSE stable by the previous government. The navratna empowerment gives government-owned companies a greater freedom in decision-making.

Navratnas are, for instance, allowed to raise capital, enter into jointventures and work out wage agreements with their employees without the prior approval of the Union government. The gems are also allowed a higher ceiling on capital investments that do not require a nod from the Centre, than other public sector undertakings (PSUs).

The navratna empowerment was considered necessary to enable the state-owned blue chips to grapple better with the free market. Confronted with new players and so, a market that was no longer captive, PSEs began to realise that the rules of the game had changed and required quick decisions and prompt action.

The Steel Authority of India has a whole new restructuring proposal, it plans to put up before the ``navratna'' board. The organisational revamp is expected to pull SAIL out of the quagmire of a market in recession and slumping profits.

The four new inductments will swell the strength of the SAIL board to 19. The steel giant now has a 15-member board of directors, headed by chairman Arvind Pande.

Apart from the four managing directors ofSAIL plants, the board includes six functional directors, like director (finance) V. S. Jain, director (personnel and corporate planning) M. K. Moitra, director (commercial) K. A. P. Singh, director (projects) S. C. K. Patne, director (operations) S. Pandey and director (research and development) S. K. Bhattacharyya.

The remaining four directors include two steel ministry nominees, Naresh Narad and A. H. Jung and labour representative, Indian National Trade Union Congress (Intuc) leader, Gopeshwar. The four non-functional directors are now expected to bring in fresh management ideas and their professional expertise to the board comprising technocrats, bureaucrats and financial wizards.

But above all, the newcomers will bring in more clout to the navratnas. The navratna boards may not be able to snap the apron strings that tie PSEs to policy-makers at the Centre, but may be able to stretch the strings a little.

Apart from SAIL, the nation's gems include the National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC), theOil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC), Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), Bharat Petroleum Corporation (BPCL), Hindustan Petroleum Corporation (HPCL), the Gas Authority of India Limited (GAIL), the Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited (MTNL), Videsh Sanchar Nigam Limited (VSNL) and Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL).