New Delhi, Aug. 8: Cairn India managing director and CEO Rahul Dhir has quit to pursue other opportunities.

The search for Dhir’s successor is underway, and an announcement is expected soon, Cairn said today. P. Elango, director of strategy, will take over as the interim head.

Dhir’s decision did not come as a surprise as speculation was rife about his exit since the company became a Vedanta Group entity. His departure comes just after Cairn India reported its best quarterly performance, with a 40 per cent jump in net profit.

Since the acquisition by Vedanta, Rick Bott, executive director and chief operating officer of Cairn India, quit the firm in June, 2011. Executive director and chief financial officer Indrajit Banerjee resigned in August, 2011.

“The board of Cairn India announces that Dhir has decided to step down as managing director and chief executive officer of the company effective from August 31, 2012 to pursue his entrepreneurial interests,” the company said.

Dhir said, “We have achieved all major milestones set out at the time of the IPO. With the completion of Vedanta’s acquisition, Cairn India’s exceptional organisation and unique asset base are well placed to continue to deliver sustainable growth and value. This is the right transition point for me to pursue my entrepreneurial interests.”

Oil India

Oil India posted a 9.45 per cent rise in net profit at Rs 930 crore for the first quarter of this fiscal because of higher crude and natural gas price realisation (exchange rate benefit) and growth in interest income.