From reviving a stalled Assam fertiliser giant to steering the country’s biggest urea comeback, Dr. Siba Prasad Mohanty has built a career on making struggling institutions grow again
Three Decades of Fertiliser Leadership
Dr. Siba Prasad Mohanty, Managing Director of Hindustan Urvarak & Rasayan Limited (HURL), brings more than 36 years of leadership across some of India’s most strategic public sector undertakings in the fertiliser and agri-input sector. In an industry where plants are capital-heavy, timelines are long and every tonne of urea carries national importance for farmers, his career has followed one recurring pattern: he is called in when an institution needs to be turned around, and he is expected to reshape its growth trajectory.
Learning the Trade, Winning Early Recognition
Mohanty’s foundation was built on formal management training and years on the shop floor of the industry. He earned his MBA from Berhampur University in Odisha, and later completed an Executive Development Programme at IIM Lucknow and an Advanced Management Programme at IIM Kolkata. Recognition came early. He won the “Marketing Man of the Year” award in 1995 and the “Best Employee” award in 2012 at RCF. Together, the two honours point to a leader who combined commercial instinct with sustained performance inside a large public sector enterprise.
Steering HIL Towards Awards and Innovation
Before moving to the fertiliser majors, Mohanty headed HIL (India) Limited as Chairman and Managing Director. During his chairmanship, Hindustan Insecticides Limited collected several prestigious awards, including the CSR Excellence Award from Bureaucracy Today, the Times Ascent award for innovative HR practices and recognition from FICCI. The awards suggest a leadership style that treats people practices and social responsibility as part of business performance rather than add-ons to it.
The BVFCL Revival
His most celebrated turnaround came in Assam. Mohanty became Chairman and Managing Director of Brahmaputra Valley Fertilizer Corporation Limited (BVFCL) on October 1, 2021. He led the remarkable revival of the organisation after more than a decade of operational and financial stagnation. The BVFCL chapter earned him his reputation as a manager who can bring back life to a fading enterprise, and it set the stage for a much larger assignment.
Taking the Helm at HURL
In March 2023, the government handed him a second big responsibility. The Ministry of Chemicals & Fertilizers gave him additional charge as Managing Director of HURL in place of SC Mudgerikar, initially for one year or until a regular appointment was made. He assumed full-time charge as HURL’s Managing Director on December 29, 2023. The move placed him at the head of a company central to India’s push for self-reliance in urea.
A Joint Venture Built for Scale
The company he leads was designed to bring dormant assets back to life. HURL was formed in 2016 as a joint venture with NTPC, Coal India and Indian Oil Corporation as lead promoters, alongside FCIL and HFCL, to revitalise the old fertiliser units. The company set up energy-efficient, environmentally friendly ammonia-urea complexes at Gorakhpur, Barauni and Sindri, with a combined capacity of 38.1 lakh metric tonnes a year of neem-coated prilled urea, on an investment of Rs 28,000 crore.
Benchmarks of Operational Excellence
Under Mohanty, the three plants have moved from the construction story to the performance story. Its Gorakhpur, Sindri and Barauni urea plants have emerged as benchmarks of operational excellence and national self-reliance under his leadership, and he leads one of the largest fertiliser revival missions in post-liberalised India. The description underlines how much of India’s urea security now rests on a company that barely existed a decade ago.
Looking Beyond Urea
Mohanty has also pushed HURL’s horizon past conventional fertiliser production. He has steered the company’s strategic expansion into next-generation agri-solutions, including green hydrogen and clean-energy-based initiatives, pointing to a new direction for sustainable agriculture and technological innovation. The shift reflects a wider conversation in Indian agriculture about reducing dependence on imported inputs while cutting the sector’s carbon footprint.
A New Mandate in Assam
His Assam connection has come full circle. Mohanty was appointed the first Managing Director of Assam Valley Fertilizer and Chemical Company Limited, a joint venture of the Government of Assam, Oil India, NFL, HURL and BVFCL, which was incorporated on July 25, 2025. The appointment gives him the rare task of building a major fertiliser venture from its very first day, after having revived an old one.
Safety, Skills and Community
Beyond the plant gates, Mohanty has made safety and community development part of HURL’s identity. In March 2026, he joined employees at the head office to mark National Safety Month with a flag hoisting, a safety pledge ceremony and a signature campaign. He also inaugurated Project SAKSHAM at Gorakhpur, a youth skill development initiative, alongside the Vice Chancellor of Deen Dayal Upadhyay University and officials of the National Skill Development Corporation, stressing that such programmes help build a self-reliant, empowered youth.
Voice in the National Conversation
Mohanty has increasingly become a face of the sector in public forums. In August 2026, he spoke on a panel at Bharatiya Vyapar Mahotsav 2026 on empowering Indian agriculture through innovation, value addition and market linkages, from farm to global markets. His recognitions include the Chanakya Award 2022 from the Public Relations Council of India in Kolkata, and he chairs the Fertilizer Association of India’s Eastern Region.
A Legacy Built on Second Chances
Dr. Siba Prasad Mohanty’s career reads like a series of second chances given to institutions that had lost momentum. At BVFCL he brought an organisation back after more than a decade of stagnation. At HURL he now leads three urea plants that replaced ageing fertiliser units and add 38.1 lakh metric tonnes of annual capacity to the country’s supply. At Assam Valley Fertilizer and Chemical Company he has been trusted to build a new venture from day one. Whether or not he sees himself that way, the common thread is a belief that public sector enterprises can be rebuilt to serve farmers, communities and the nation’s self-reliance.
