Nabard sources say that the delay in naming Kotiah's successor has impinged finanace minister Yashwant Sinha's Budget proposals related to agriculture.These include extension of micro-credit to two lakh self-help groups (SHGs) covering 40 lakh families over the next five years (Nabard has to initiate measures under this scheme to benifit a target audience of 10,000 SHGs and two lakh families in 1998-99), a model scheme for the issue of kisan credit cards to farmers, Nabard's role in the formulation of a national agricultural policy paper, and a new co-operative law to replace the multi-state co-operative societies Act (1984).

The current charge de affairs at Nabard is its managingdirector, PVA Rama Rao, who is assisted by five executive directors, up by two as a result of recent promotions. The five Nabard executive directors are: YC Nanda, SB Sharma, Chalapati Rao, Ali Mian Zaidi and MG Marwah.

Insiders fume at what they term "a casual approach" on the part of the finance ministry in appointing a successor to Kotiah. Under the Nabard Act (1981), "the chairman and other directors should be appointed by the central government in consultation with the Reserve Bank of India".

The agenda for Nabard's forthcoming board meet on Thursday includes a review of the apex agriculture body's performance and finalisation of accounts for theyear 1997-98. The Reserve Bank and ministry of finance's representatives on Nabard board who are expected to attend the meeting include deputy governor, Jagdish Kapoor, and secretary-banking, PM Vasudev.

"We are looking at a board meet without a chairman and we have no clue as to who will chair the meeting...if matters continue to be the way they are, thebusiness plan for 1998-99 may have to wait for sometime before it gets cleared," a Nabard official said.

A related issue that is bothering Nabard's top brass is one of having a chairman from within the present cadre. Save for the just retired Kotiah former Nabard chairmen were all outsiders: Ramakrishnaiah, RK Kaul and PR Nayak.

While there is nothing explicit in the Nabard Act, which bars an outsider from being appointed as chairman, senior Nabard officials point out that someone well aware of the realities in the agriculture sector rather than a career-bureaucrat would serve the institution better. It will also be a continuation of the precedent set with Kotiah's appointment as chairman-Nabard last time around.

The ideal choice for chairmanship, according to Nabard officials, is the present managing director Rao. The promotion of Rao as chairman-Nabard would also see the seniormost executive director, YC Nanda, moving up as managing director.

The indecisiveness on the part of the authoritiesconcerned in naming a successor to Kotaiah is affecting the decision-making process within Nabard. Certain powers cannot be delegated by an incumbent/outgoing chairman to the managing director.