Coal India Appoints B. Sairam as Chief Executive Officer


Coal India Appoints B. Sairam as Chief Executive Officer
  • Assumes the CEO role alongside his responsibilities as Chairman and Managing Director
  • Brings over three decades of experience across coal mining, operations, logistics, and regulatory affairs
  • Widely recognized for leading large-scale mining projects, driving operational efficiencies, and navigating complex regulatory and stakeholder environments

State-owned miner Coal India Limited (CIL) has appointed B Sairam as its Chief Executive Officer, in addition to his current role as Chairman and Managing Director. The appointment was announced on Friday.

Sairam, who recently took charge as CMD of Coal India, will now oversee the company’s overall strategic and operational direction as CEO. Before joining Coal India’s top leadership, he served as CMD of Northern Coalfields Limited (NCL), a wholly owned subsidiary of CIL.

With more than three decades of experience in the coal sector, Sairam has worked across mine operations, project planning, coal transportation, and regulatory affairs. He is a graduate mining engineer from NIT Raipur and holds an MBA in Energy Management from the NTPC School of Business, New Delhi.

Earlier in his career, Sairam served as Director (Technical) at Central Coalfields Limited (CCL). In this role, he played a key part in strengthening coal logistics, rolling out First Mile Connectivity projects, and securing critical forest and environmental clearances. He also led the planning and execution of both greenfield and brownfield mining projects.

At NCL, Sairam led the Jayant expansion project, one of the sector’s largest rehabilitation and resettlement efforts. The project involved financing, mine projectisation, and the relocation of an urban township, which was completed within a year through a structured compensation and rehabilitation framework.

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He has also helped fast-track regulatory approvals for several major mining projects, supporting uninterrupted coal production. Beyond operations, Sairam has been actively involved in community development, focusing on stakeholder engagement and trust-building in mining regions.

Coal India said Sairam’s deep understanding of the coal ecosystem will help strengthen leadership as the company addresses expansion plans and regulatory challenges ahead.