Government head-hunter Public Enterprises Selection Board (PESB) has recommended Ashok Kumar Panda, Director (Finance) at Steel Authority of India Ltd (SAIL), for the post of Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) at the state-run steel major, PTI reported.Panda was among 10 shortlisted candidates interviewed for the top post at India’s largest public-sector steel-making entity.The position will fall vacant after the tenure of the current CMD, Amarendu Prakash, ends on April 2, 2026. Prakash had assumed charge as SAIL Chairman on May 31, 2023.In a notification dated March 28, PESB said it has recommended Ashok Kumar Panda for the CMD position. He is currently serving as Director (Finance) in the company.The final appointment, however, will be subject to approval by the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC), headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, which clears all top-level PSU appointments.Alongside Panda, several senior executives appeared for the interview process, including Manish Raj Gupta, Director (Mining) at SAIL; Alok Verma, Director In Charge of SAIL’s Rourkela Steel Plant; Bipin Kumar Giri, ED Mines Development; and Anish Sengupta, ED Projects.Other candidates included Krishna Gopal Agarwal, Director (Finance) at Rites; Anup Kumar Satpathy of South East Central Railway; Pui Hari Prasad; and Chetan Prakash Jain.PESB had invited applications for the SAIL CMD post in the first week of February.Panda is a seasoned finance professional with over three decades of experience across accounting, costing and budgeting, annual business planning, project commercial activities, treasury operations, superannuation trusts, taxation and strategic management.He began his career with SAIL as a Management Trainee after completing his B.E. in Electrical Engineering.