Who is A K Panda? The new SAIL chairman and managing director

Ashok Kumar Panda on Saturday assumed charge as chairman and managing director of state-owned Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL), succeeding Amarendu Prakash whose tenure ended on April 1, 2026, PTI reported.Before taking over as CMD, Panda was serving as Director (Finance) at SAIL, according to a company statement.Panda joined SAIL in 1992 as a Management Trainee (Technical) after completing his BE in Electrical Engineering and has spent more than three decades with the company.Over the years, he held multiple operational, financial and commercial roles across various plants and units of SAIL.The company said Panda played a key role in several strategic initiatives during his tenure as Director (Finance), aimed at improving operational efficiency and profitability.After assuming charge, Panda said SAIL was preparing for its next phase of growth and capacity expansion.“SAIL is on track for its next phase of capacity expansion to 35 MTPA. Alongside expansion, we will continue to place the highest priority on safety across all our workplaces,” Panda said, PTI quoted.“Strengthening raw material security through enhanced domestic mining and exploration of overseas assets will be critical to support our growth ambitions. At the same time, we are committed to expanding our market reach with a sharper focus on value-added products, strengthening our brand connect and ensuring sustained value creation for all stakeholders,” he added.SAIL, under the Ministry of Steel, is India’s largest public sector steel manufacturing company with an installed capacity of over 20 million tonnes per annum.