Krishna Kumar Thakur has been appointed director (personnel) at National Mineral Development Corporation (NMDC), the Indian iron ore company under the administrative control of the Ministry of Steel, effective 19 March, 2026.
Kumar was earlier serving as director (HR) at Bharat Heavy Electricals (BHEL), where he had joined as director, human resources in July of 2023. Thakur was looking after its public sector engineering and manufacturing enterprise. His expertise lies in his abilities to foster harmonious industrial relations and fulfil corporate obligations.
With a career spanning well over two decades, Thakur possesses extensive expertise in managing HR affairs and administration within the Indian Railways and other central public-sector undertakings (PSUs). Prior to joining BHEL, Thakur was associated with the Central railway as its chief personnel officer (2021 to 2023), overseeing the HR and administration functions.
During his career, Thakur has held many leadership positions in the HR departments of three significant railway divisions: Solapur, Bhopal, and Mumbai. In the Mumbai division, he handled all HR matters pertaining to the thirty-five thousand staff members. Additionally, he has served as the chairman of the Railway Recruitment Cell (2013 to 2017), Western Railway. This role saw him successfully facilitate the recruitment process for approximately 12,000 employees. He also held the position of head HR at Konkan Railway Corporation where he made significant contributions to the development and streamlining of HR policies and procedures.
Thakur has also delivered a few temporary assignments with RITES (an Indian public- sector undertaking which operates under the Ministry of Railways), where he played a vital role in a train operation project in Saudi Arabia. During his stint he successfully facilitated the issuance of work visas (Iqama), acquired skilled personnel, and ensured efficient resource management, all within strict timelines to meet the client’s satisfaction.
Thakur holds a post-graduate degree in literature from Tilka Manjhi University, Bhagalpur, and has completed a post-graduate diploma in management with a specialisation in human resource (PGDM-HR) from the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS).
HRKatha wishes Krishna Kumar Thakur all the best in his latest assignment at NMDC!