When Soma Mondal took charge of SAIL on January 1, 2021, she was the first woman head of the nearly five-decade-old company. In FY22, SAIL registered another first–it crossed ₹1 lakh crore (₹1,04,335 crore) revenue for the first time. Mondal retired on April 30, 2023, with SAIL repeating the ₹1 lakh crore feat (₹1,05,398 crore in FY23). Mondal, now a member of Public Enterprises Selection Board, says SAIL will set a new record in FY24. “We brought a change where focus was not only on volumes but also costs,” says Mondal, an electrical engineering graduate from NIT, Rourkela.
However, global economic uncertainties and low demand hit net profits in FY23—they dipped to ₹2,176 crore, from ₹12,243 crore in FY22. Mondal is also passionate about sustainability and digitisation. “We have a roadmap for carbon footprint encompassing all the plants,” she says. Mondal—a lover of old Hindi music who cherishes travel to hills and forests—is bullish on SAIL. “I would look at 2030 as the time when SAIL will have a much higher production figure.” — Joe C. Mathew