Prakash Bakshi, the newly-appointed chairman of the National Bank for Agriculture & Rural Development (Nabard) is the only executive director to make it to the top job at the bank. However, his appointment comes at a time when Nabard is at the crossroads, with the ongoing repositioning and restructuring exercise crucial not only to the organisation but also to the entire rural development banking in the country.
In the greater interest of the organisation, Bakshi’s appointment superseding his two senior executive directors, S K Mitra and Amresh Kumar, has been acknowledged and supported by them with an open heart.
Bakshi, his close associates aver, has an unassuming and suave personality, even as he is often perceived as quietly assertive, tough and, many times, unyielding when it comes to dealing with the issues on rural economy. Bakshi is credited with spearheading the micro credit strategy of the bank and providing it the much-needed fillip by roping in non-government organisation for the countrywide programme of linking self-help groups with the formal banking structure.
At the helm of the bank, Bakshi will presently have to address critical issues and, perhaps, may even have to opt for tougher decisions in the course of organisational restructuring.
The challenges before the Nabard head today are many and varied. Foremost among them is that the organization is fast losing its relevance in the changed economic scenario and will have to hunt for new and innovative business models. The burgeoning expenditure of maintaining the highest-paid staff under the revised pay structure needs to be justified with matching returns in terms of productivity and forward-looking human resource deployment.