Calcutta , Jan. 31: Tata Steel is engaged in an extensive reshuffle of its top management covering its Indian operations, domestic subsidiaries and local joint ventures.

The changes are taking place from the very top. After Hemant Nerurkar replaced B. Muthuraman as the managing director of Tata Steel in September, he has resigned from the boards of several subsidiary firms. Muthuraman is now the vice-chairman of Tata Steel.

Nerurkar stepped down as the chairman of pig iron manufacturer Tata Metaliks Ltd and Jamipol, a three-way joint venture with a German and a Bhutanese company. In Tinplate, Nerurkar has quit from his post of a director.

He is still the chairman of Hooghly Met Coke, a wholly owned subsidiary of Tata Steel, and TM International Ltd, in which German IQ Martrade and Japan’s NYK are the partners.

Tata Steel sources indicated that Hooghly Met Coke was likely to be merged with the parent, which is the only buyer of its products. There is also a likelihood of Nerurkar saying goodbye to TM International.

It is learnt that the Tata top brass wants Nerurkar to focus more on the core operation and overseas subsidiaries (Corus, NatSteel and Tata Steel Thailand) and leave the management of the domestic joint ventures and subsidiaries to the executives at the second level.

Harsh K. Jha, managing director of Tata Metaliks, explained the move: “It is not a sudden decision. He (Nerurkar) thought overseas subsidiaries require much more attention than the local ones and, hence, stepped down from most of the boards, including ours.”

A few days back, The Telegraph had asked Nerurkar on the sidelines of an event in Calcutta about his decision to step down from two listed entities — Tinplate and Tata Metaliks.

“We are trying to distribute responsibilities,” was the reply from the Tata Steel MD.

India made up 22 per cent of Tata Steel’s turnover in the second quarter of this fiscal. The local operation posted a profit of $188 million against a loss of $788 million by Tata Steel Europe.

The management rejig may also be aimed at grooming the second level of leadership in Tata Steel. Group chief financial officer Koushik Chatterjee has become the chairman of Tinplate and Tata Metaliks. Senior vice-presidents such as Anand Sen and Varun Jha have become chairmen of other group companies; Sen of Tata Ryerson and Jha of Jamipol.

It is likely that Partha Sengupta may become the chairman of Tata Sponge in place of A.D. Baijal, Tata Steel group director (global mineral resource), who is due to retire on April 1. In TM International, Sengupta is likely to take over as chairman from Nerurkar.

Nerurkar continues to be on the board of Tata Steel Thailand as vice-chairman and deputy to Muthuraman. He is also on the boards of NatSteel Holdings, Tata Bluescope and Corus.

Big changes

The changes follow a reshuffle in the senior management of Tata Steel. Eight posts of vice-presidents have been churned. From April 1, Anand Sen will take over shared services, leaving flat products for T.V. Narendran.

Partha Sengupta will quit corporate services to be in charge of raw materials. Sanjeev Paul will step down as MD of Jusco to take over corporate services. Hridayeshwar Jha, who was in charge of long products, will take over the reigns of the Orissa project from B.K. Singh, who retires on April 1. Bimalendra Jha will be in charge of long products, A.M. Mishra for CSI and industrial relations, and Om Narayan for special projects.