The finance ministry will examine the recent senior appointments in public sector banks, including that of CMDs, according to finance ministry sources. This decision comes in the wake of the recent arrest of S.K. Jain, CMD, Syndicate Bank, on charges of corruption and subsequent finding or irregularities in the appointment by CBI. Finance minister Arun Jaitley has written to the Reserve Bank of India governor Raghuram Rajan, who heads the appointment board that selects state-run bank chiefs, as well as cabinet secretary Ajit Seth, who processes all papers for the appointments committee of cabinet. According to CBI, some of the appointments processed during the UPA’s closing days lacked transparency and there are indications that some political considerations may have played a part. CBI has recommended a legal scrutiny of the appointments as it has found clues suggesting that ACRs and interviews were managed and some middlemen also played a role.
