 "Mundra likely to be next RBI deputy governor")
The long-vacant post of the Pension Fund Regulatory & Development Authority (PFRDA) chief may also be filled up soon, with the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) giving its go-ahead for the appointment of former State Bank of India Managing Director Hemant Contractor—again UPA’s choice.
“Mundra’s name has been cleared by the finance minister. CVC has cleared Contractor’s appointment. The files have gone to the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) for final approval,” said a government official who did not wish to be identified.
More From This Section
The ACC, headed by the Prime Minister, usually doesn’t turn down the recommendation of the finance minister. Former finance minister P Chidambaram had proposed Mundra’s name to then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in the last few weeks of the UPA government. However, Singh had returned the file, along with many others, saying the next government should take a call on all those appointments.
The post of RBI deputy governor is lying vacant since April this year, following the exit of KC Chakrabarty--two months ahead of the completion of his term.
PFRDA became headless in November last year when the finance ministry cut short the term of Yogesh Agarwal due to his “autocratic style”. The government got over 80 applications for the post of the pension regulator, including from former top bureaucrats. The selection committee headed by then financial services secretary Rajiv Takru, however, proposed Contractor’s name. Contractor, who had lost out to Arundhati Bhattacharya for SBI Chairman post, retired as SBI managing director in April.
The appointment to the coveted post of an RBI Deputy Governor also saw various turn of events. According to the norms, one of the four deputy governors should be a domestic bank’s chairman. RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan proposed changing the criteria to a “prominent banker”, which could have reportedly paved the way for appointment of Nachiket Mor—a former deputy managing director of ICICI Bank and now a board member of the central bank--to an RBI deputy governor. The finance ministry, however, turned down the proposal. Among nine state-owned bank chiefs who were in the fray, Punjab National Bank Chairman KR Kamath was also considered a strong contender. The search panel headed by Rajan finally zeroed in on Mundra.
Mundra may handle all the portfolios Chakrabarty was heading, including banking supervision, customer service, currency management, financial stability, rural planning and credit development.
Currently, PFRDA’s whole-time member RV Verma is its acting chairman, whereas Chakrabarty’s work was re-distributed among other three deputy governors of RBI.
MOVING ON
- FM clears BoB Chairman S S Mundra as an RBI deputy governor
- Post vacant since K C Chakrabarty resigned in April
- RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan proposed to change criterion of appointing a bank chairman as an RBI deputy governor
- Finance ministry turned this down
- Former SBI MD Hemant Contractor is likely to be pension regulator; he's been cleared by CVC