Finmin weighs extension for Union Bank, LIC chairmen

After putting new SBI and a new SEBI chiefs at helm, the finance ministry is currently evaluating whether to give extension to the tenures of LIC chairman T.S.Vijayan and Union Bank of India CMD M.V.Nair - both will be completing their respective five-year tenure but will be having residual services to reach 60. Vijayan, who recently had to do a lot of firefighting after Central Bureau of Investigation arrested officials from LIC's investigation department and LIC Housing Finance CEO R.R.Nair in bribe-for-loans cases, will be completing five years in April but will have two more years to reach the superannuation age of 60. Similarly, Nair will ending his five-year tenure at UBI in March but will have one more year to reach the retirement age of 60. It has not been an easy decision for the finance ministry to decide whether to go for extension in both Vijayan and Nair's cases as not giving extension after 'a tenure of five years' has become a parctice for so many other important appointments in financial sector and other public sector enterprises. Usha Thorat, Deputy Governor, Reserve Bank of India, Sarthak Behuria, CMD, India Oil, Ashok Sinha, CMD, Bharat Petroleum Company were earlier denied extension though all of them had residual services to reach 60. Sources point out that initial round of discussion among the top official of the ministry hasn't found favour for giving extension to both Vijyan and Nair.. But finance minister Pranab Mukherjee is yet take a call. There are indications that Vijayan may be rehabilitated in any other top posts like UTI Chief which has fallen vacant after U.K.Sinha's appointment as SEBI Chairman or a member in the Securities Appellate Tribunal. Similarly, Nair may be shifted as the executive chairman of Star Union Life Insurance, a life insurance joint venture among Bank of India, Union Bank of India and Japanese major Dai-ichi. The contenders for the LIC chiefs in terms of seniority are DK Mehotra, Thomas Mathew, AK Dasgupta - all are currently LIC's three managing directors. Finance ministry sources point out there will be a decision about the LIC chief soon. Meanwhile, the ministry is also in the process of filling up posts of UTI chairman, Nabard chairman, CMDs of Sidbi and ECGC. For top posts of Nabard, the name of Prakah Bakshi, one of the junior most executive directors in Nabard is doing the round, sources point out. If selected Bakshi will be superseding many of his seniors including SK Mitra who is the senior most ED in the organisation. Incidentally, KG Karmakar, managing director of Nabard who has almost completed five years in the post was excluded from the exercise to choose chairman as he has one and half years of service left, falling short of the two year of residual service norms for selection of Nabard chief.