New Delhi: A new debate has arisen as the Larsen and Toubro (L&T) Chairman and Managing Director, SN Subrahmanyan, on Monday made a statement that the tenure of the heads of the Public Sector Enterprises (PSEs) should be increased, citing that frequent changes in leadership affect the growth of the company.
While addressing the Indian Foundation for Quality Management (IFQM) Symposium 2026, the CMD said, “If the term is one year, two years, the person is coming in and is waiting for his retirement; he cannot have a long-term vision or plan.”
His remarks come at a time when the central projects face delays and cost escalations, and the government has increased the CAPEX allocation of Rs 12.2 lakh crore for 2026-27.
Subrahmanyan then contrasted the public sector with the private sector, where the project directors remain in their roles for longer periods of time and develop continuity in managing stakeholders and delivery.
According to him, a newly appointed senior should be given a tenure of about five years to conceive and complete the projects.
India has fantastic people with high pedigree and strong implementation capabilities in the government system, but short tenures of one or two years prevent them from taking a long-term view, he added.