Scaling the Power Peak
Published on : Sunday 08-03-2020
Arundhati Bhattacharya joined NTPC in 1981 as Executive Trainee (ET) at E1 level and headed the Control and Instrumentation department of the Engineering Division.
She continued with the organisation, rising steadily in the ranks, reaching the position of Executive Director (ED) at E9 level, until her superannuation in 2016. She has the distinction of being the first woman to grace the post. During her long innings at NTPC, Arundhati also had the opportunity to be on the Board of two Joint Venture companies of NTPC, viz., NTECL and NSPCL, as woman nominee director from NTPC.
Arundhati Bhattacharya hails from a conservative, middle class family from Bengal, moored in tradition and values. Many of her ancestors were academicians, musicians and excelled in several other fields, Rashtra Guru Sir Surendra Nath Banerjee, founder member of Indian National Congress, being one of them. However, the financial state of the family went into decline owing to various factors and the glory faded over a period of time. “I do not hesitate in saying I come from a humble but blissful background,” says Arundhati.
The early years
Since childhood, Arundhati was attracted to string instruments, especially the Sitar. However, the family was not favourably inclined to her interest, concerned about her academic progress. Nevertheless, she was allowed to practice vocal music, recitation, etc. She studied at the Baranagar Rameswar Girl’s Higher Secondary School, and later enrolled at Ram Mohan College, affiliated to Calcutta University. Concentrating on her future, she progressed well in academics, earning her B.Sc (Hons in Physics) and later B.Tech (Instrumentation) from the Applied Physics Department of University College of Science and technology (CU). Continuing the studies, she also acquired an MBA. “I was always a day scholar having no experience of hostel stay,” says Arundhati, when asked whether she experienced independent living during this phase of life. Asked about her preference for engineering, she cites as role model a senior who pursued B.Tech (Instrumentation) from Applied Physics Department after B.Sc. “She was working with one of the reputed PSUs as a Management Trainee. Her experience in the industry as a first generation women engineer in that PSU influenced me to study engineering and follow her path,” she says about her career choice. “As my siblings were all girls, we never felt any discrimination of being a girl child. My family was supportive about my decision and thus I completed my engineering, she adds.
Was it easy for a woman, even with a degree in engineering, to find the right job, back then? “In our times, some very reputed Companies had policies of not accepting women in the Technical role. I had faced such discrimination from a large private sector company in Kolkata who denied taking our interview while making campus placement! However, such type of discriminatory attitude towards women engineers is no more seen today. Studies have shown that in the last five years more women have risen to the top levels at several Companies. This is because of the fact that Companies are seeing the value of women in leadership roles. Women today are doing very well due to their determination, confidence and risk-taking attitude. They are aware of their rights and responsibilities,” says Arundhati, matter-of-factly. When asked whether she has any message for young women, she says, “There is no shortcut; hard work is the only way forward. Honesty, fairness and compassion needs to be part of your work style. If you make any mistake, own up, take necessary corrective action and move on.”
A career NTPC person
Arundhati joined NTPC in 1981 as one of the first three women Executive Trainees in a batch of 250-300 engineers. Established in 1975, NTPC is India’s largest power utility with an installed capacity of 58,156 MW (including JVs). It has ambitious plan to become a 130 GW company by 2032, and aims to be the world’s largest and best power company. What was the training like then, and how was that experience? “During our one-year training period, over and above the classroom lectures we had to travel extensively to various sites where there were projects at different stages of construction and commissioning; also to various manufacturers’ design office and their works for hands-on experience. Subsequently, we were posted in our respective departments. Our organisation took care of our professional and personal needs very well. The seniors in office were supportive and used to give their valuable guidance whenever we required,” she says.
Speaking about the work culture and challenges, Arundhati stresses that NTPC has always been a pioneer in adoption of new technology. “In the C&I domain, doing away with the obsolete technology, learning the emerging ones and adaption of the same in our plants within the tight project schedule has always been a continuous challenge confronting the engineering team. However, because of our team effort we could overcome all the challenges and always became successful as a team,” she emphasises.
Among the notable achievements during her time, Arundhati cites a few: the LVS based power plant operation in Faridabad Gas Power Project, implementation of first DCS for entire plant including off sites, adoption of cybersecurity as a design aspect, development of in- house engineering software – some of which have also been copyrighted. “One such challenge confronting us was the development of the control schemes for our first 660 MW super critical unit at Sipat Stage I. The OEMs of the main plant equipment were from different countries, each with different design philosophies and different engineering standards. However, with the untiring effort of our dedicated engineers in my team, we overcame all the hurdles and emerged as a successful designer for our first supercritical unit,” she asserts proudly.
“I never thought of leaving NTPC until my last day at office. From the very beginning, we had huge scope of work for our various ongoing as well as upcoming projects in the Engineering Division. Opportunities for learning new technologies, interacting with renowned consultants and leading manufacturers were unparalleled in the industry. It will not be out of place to mention here that for a woman professional, the healthy and secured working atmosphere in our office made it the most conducive workplace in the industry. All these factors played a positive role in my continuing in the organisation,” says Arundhati of her decision to stay on till superannuation.
Awards and accolades are part of corporate life and Arundhati has received her fair share. But she likes to mention the Lifetime Achievement Award by the International Society of Automation (ISA) – Delhi Section for outstanding contribution in promoting advanced Control and Instrumentation system in power sector; and the Leadership Excellence Award by ISA District 14, Mumbai. She is also the recipient of Women’s Contribution to Power Sector Award by the Council of Power Utilities.
Looking back how do you view your tenure with NTPC and was there anything that you missed? “Since I was always posted at the Corporate Centre and there was no policy for compulsory site posting, I spent my entire career in CC except the site stays I had during various meetings like PRT, Commissioning Review meeting, ORT, System Performance Guarantee test, system performance feedback review, etc. However I believe a site posting would have given me total insight of site functioning and could have helped me better in my career progression,” laments Arundhati.
With respect to unfinished goals, Arundhati gives the background and mentions the late Chandan Ray, who superannuated from NTPC as Dir(O) as a visionary. Under his capable leadership as ED(Engineering), NTPC Engineering department’s working procedure and style were completely overhauled and brought at par with those of the global majors to handle the huge engineering tasks for a large number of future projects. He was of the opinion that in line with the plant operator training Simulator at site used for Operator Training, NTPC Engineering Department should also have an Engineering Simulator in their Design Office for development of various process schemes during the design stage of new projects. “In order to benefit my organisation with such an Engineering Simulator at our Design Office, the procurement and installation activities were completed, all the developmental activities including customisation of the various process to make that procured simulator fully functional were also initiated in my department. Though it was my dream to see the fully functional Simulator during my tenure, it did not happen,” she says wistfully.
Post retirement life
Retirement is the time when a career person has time to devote to all those activities relegated to the backburner for years. “After my superannuation, I have started taking interest and learning light music. Reading and listening to music are the two most favourite activities of
my retired life other than occasional travel to different places/countries, which we have not visited earlier due to our busy schedules,” she says. “Though I am not a very ritualistic person, I believe in God and try to take part in celebrating the main Pujas. However I respect all religions and try to follow the advice of Sri Ramakrishna Paramhangsha Dev, ‘Jato Mat Tato Path’ in Bengali (Different people take different routes to reach the same Superpower).” “We are only two members in the family, my husband and I. My mother lives in Kolkata. Apart from her, family includes my sisters and their family members and my husband’s brothers and their family members. Family get-togethers and travelling in a group, which I look forward to, gives me immense pleasure and relaxation,” says Arundhati about her worldly ties.
Is there anything specific you would like to share about your career, something that could like words of wisdom for the coming generation?
“I would refrain from mentioning such specific incidents, which is not in line with my principles. However, what I always believed and tried to follow all along is ‘to do what is right’. Wherever you are and whatever position you are holding, you should always try to take care of your organisation’s interest ahead of everything else. While doing so, you may face various hurdles including sacrificing your own interests. But never get disheartened and stick to your principle, as it is not only very important to be successful and be an achiever in your career, but also it is equally important to lead a respectable and dignified life throughout,” sums up the lady, a legend in her own lifetime!
.jpg)
