The ministry's casual approach is deplorable since the domestic financial sector is not at the best of health. In the recent past, chiefs of Indian Bank and Punjab & Sind Bank have created a sort of record in getting extensions which range between a few weeks and a few months. At the other end of the spectrum, there are instances of Bank of Indiaand Nabard which have remained headless for ages. The dramas over the UTI chairman's appointment and IDBI chief SH Khan's exit are also fresh in public memory.

It is high time the ministry pursued a professional approach to the promotion policy in banks and institutions. Senior executives must e groomed for the top job, and remain at the helm for a fairly long time as is usual in the private sector. Such an ad-hoc approach to leadership in the country's top financial firms not only shows a deplorable lack of concern in the finance ministry about the basic needs of these institutions, but also a frivolous attitude to national interest.