Punjab and Sind Bank may again be headed by an IAS

WILL Punjab and Sind Bank get an IAS chief once more? The finance ministry has begun a manhunt for an IAS officer to be appointed as chairman and managing director (CMD) of the bank which has received the Reserve Bank of India’s approval for an initial public offer (IPO).

According to Business Standard, the finmin has begun the search within bureaucracy when they were unable to find a senior Sikh banker to replace GS Vedi as the CMD of the Delhi-headquartered bank. Mr Vedi is retiring in the end of June.

RP Singh, current DIPP (department of industrial policy and promotion) secretary, and a 1976 batch IAS officer of Andhra Pradesh cadre headed the bank before present incumbent Mr Vedi took over as the CMD. Mr Singh’s main mandate, according to the news report, was to bring the bank on the right track after it had piled up debts and refused to modernize. The new CMD will have a major responsibility as the bank is targeting to raise Rs 500 crore through an IPO.