Saran, Misra front-runners for Sebi member?s chair

The selection panel, appointed for identifying suitable candidates for the post of a whole-time member with the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi), has short-listed and sent four names to the Cabinet’s Appointment Committee.

The list includes two heads of public sector banks, a former Sebi member and a current executive director with the market watchdog.

According to persons familiar with the development, the names of former Sebi member Prashant Saran, along with Bank of India (BoI) chairman Alok Misra, are on the top of the list, followed by Canara Bank chief S Raman and current Sebi executive director Usha Narayanan.

Sources say that while there are two vacancies at Sebi, the panel has short-listed four so that if in case there are any last-minute rejections by the highest authorities, the whole process need not be repeated all over again.

?Prashant Saran and Alok Misra are the first two choices of the panel and are widely expected to make the cut,? said a person familiar with the developments.

?Additional two names were included based on last year’s experience when vigilance clearance was not received for one of the candidates and the post remained vacant,? he said, wishing not to be named.

Incidentally, last year when the then whole-time members, MS Sahoo and KMAbraham, retired in June, only Rajeev Agarwal was appointed as a member in their place.

This time though, according to sources, the panel wants to play safe and so has included two extra names ? Raman and Narayanan ? to avoid the fiasco.

While Central Bank of India chairman R Sridhar was also selected last year, he failed to get a clearance from the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC). Once the CVC clearance is received, the names are sent to the Cabinet?s Appointments Committee, headed by the prime minister.

While Misra ? who became CMD of BoI in 2009 ? is due to retire in August this year, Saran completed his three-year term in May. Saran was formerly with the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). Interestingly, the chair of a whole-time member has traditionally been occupied by bankers with only a couple of exceptions.

AK Batra (State Bank of India), TM Nagarajan (IDBI), Madhukar (United Bank of India), VK Chopra (Corporation Bank) and TC Nair (RBI) were all bankers before occupying the whole-time member’s chair at Sebi.