ED declines interview for RBI dy governor's post

The appointment of a deputy governor to the country's central bank has always been surrounded by controversy. And this time is no exception. One of the Reserve Bank of India executive directors, C Krishnan, who was called to an interview for the post, has declined to appear before the search committee. The interview was scheduled for September 9.

It is not clear, however, why Krishnan chose not to appear before the interview panel. He is due for retirement in February next year. The search committee, headed by RBI governor D Subbarao, had called all seven executive directors for interviews.

Usha Thorat, deputy governor in charge of banking operations as well as development and banking supervision, among other departments, will complete a five-year term in November.

Among the seven EDs, V K Sharma is the seniormost, with almost two-and-a-half years of service left. The retirement age of RBI employees is 60, except for deputy governors and the governor, for whom it is 62.

Apart from Sharma and Krishnan, the other senior EDs are Anand Sinha and V S Das. While Sinha will retire in February 2011, Das has until July 2012. A deputy governor can be appointed for up to five years or until the age of 62, whichever is earlier. The other three EDs who have longer to retire from the central bank are G Gopalakrishna, H R Khan and Deepak Mohanty.