New norms to appoint PSB non-official directors

To give public sector banks and financial institutes greater autonomy and to improve their governance standards, the Centre on Wednesday restructured the process to appoint non-official directors in these entities. Under the amended rules, a search panel will go through the applications and recommend a few names to the government for approval.

"(The move is) to professionalise the boards of these banks and provide the required skill-sets to improve the quality of deliberation on their boards, leading to their efficient management and better profitability ratios," the finance ministry stated.

Any applicant for the post of non-official director will have to be at least a graduate, aged less than 67, and with 20 years of experience in various fields, including agriculture, rural economy, banking, cooperation, economics, business management, human resources, finance, corporate law and information technology.

Retired senior government officials, academicians, directors of premier management and banking institutes, professors and chartered accountants with 20 years experience are also eligible. Any director in non-official capacity will be appointed for up to six years, or two terms.