According to the latest developments, the Centre is understood to have shortlisted three contenders for the top post of the largest financial institution in the country. Sources tracking the developments say the three in the fray are: Industrial Investment Bank of India (IIBI) chairman Basudeb Sen, IDBI executive director AK Doda and Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) executive director Pratip Kar. The Centre, it is believed, is keen on observing some basic criteria for the post: the candidate must have had some experience at IDBI, either present or past, and also should be young enough to provide continuity in leadership at the institution.

The idea is to have a chairman who can be at the helm for about five years and steer IDBI over a period of time. While normally, heads of banks and financial institutions are required to have a minimum of two years left in service, in IDBI's case, there is a move to have a chairman who can be at the helm for five years in view of the enormous challenges ahead for the institution.

All the three candidates in the race now have substantial number of years left in service. While Dr Sen and Mr Kar have been in IDBI earlier, Mr Doda is a serving executive director.

The race for IDBI's chairmanship has turned into one of most keenly watched contests of late, in view of the sagging performance of the institution and the fact that it is lagging behind its prime competitor ICICI.

IDBI recently attempted to undo some of the damage done to its shareholders who suffered huge losses after investing in its initial public offering (IPO) by declaring a 3:5 bonus issue. The aim was clearly to compensate shareholders and beef up the image of the institution.