Over 40 apply for five posts of MD & CEOs in five PSBs

Over 40 senior professionals, mostly from public sector banks (PSBs) and financial institutions, have applied for the post of managing director and chief executive officer (MD &CEO) at five large PSBs including Punjab national Bank and IDBI Bank.

The government, after failing to get satisfactory response from private sector, relaxed the rules for the recruitment process. It relaxed the maximum age norm to 57 years from 55 years and brought down minimum board level experience requirement from three years to one year. The government had floated an advertisement in February 2015 to appoint MD & CEOs for Punjab National Bank, IDBI Bank, Bank of Baroda, Bank of India and Canara Bank.

A Public Interest Litigation (PIL) has been filed in the Supreme Court challenging the government's move to appoint executives from private sector financial institutions as heads of PSBs.

The PIL by K D Khera, a former president of All India Bank Officers Confederation said the government move to promote outsiders in the PSBs is discriminatory to the well-experienced, in-house staff of these banks who are more capable to take up these appointments. The SC on May 5 sought response from the central government and the Reserve Bank of India.