Race for UTI top slot hots up

MUMBAI, July 16: The race for the top slot at the country's largest mutual fund - Unit Trust of India - is hotting up with the Industrial...

MUMBAI, July 16: The race for the top slot at the country’s largest mutual fund – Unit Trust of India – is hotting up with the Industrial Development Bank of India recommending executive director PS Subramanyam’s name even as the North Block is backing the UTI’s executive trustee PG Nayak to the hilt. The appointments committee will meet in Delhi on Saturday to take the final view on the issue.

IDBI, which holds the majority stake in UTI, has recently forwarded Subramanyam’s name to the Reserve Bank of India. Going by the UTI Act, the finance ministry appoints the UTI chairman in consultation with the IDBI, which took over the RBI’s stake in the mutual fund. In case Subramanyam gets the ministry nod for the post, IDBI executives will head two important institutions in the financial sector. Another IDBI executive director, PV Narasimham, took over as chief of Industrial Finance Corporation of India on Wednesday.

Subramanyam, with a 35-year stint at IDBI, has experience in managing resources. Besides, hewas instrumental in setting up the IDBI mutual fund. "It is going to be a tough fight between the two – a banker and a career-bureaucrat. The ministry will back Nayak to the hilt," sources said.

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G P Gupta, who became the IDBI chairman recently, was the chairman of UTI for over one year. Meanwhile, IDBI is set to reshuffle its top brass in next few days. The term lending institution is in the process of appointing at least two executive directors over the weekend as two senior executives – Narasimham and A Lahiri – left IDBI over the last fortnight. While Narasimham took over at IFCI, Lahiri has become the managing director of rating agency Care.

In case Subramanyam also leaves the IDBI-fold, the organisation will be required to promote another executive to the executive director’s post. For the time being, executive director VP Singh is looking after Lahiri’s portfolio (research and planning) besides merchant banking and TM Nagarajan Narasimham’s portfolio (resources) in addition to mid-corporates andHRD. Among others, SK Chakrabarti, the senior-most ED, looks after rehabilitation, venture capital and information technology; Subramanyam corporate finance; and SK Kapur administration, board and coordination and central accounts.

Chakrabarty is likely to be made a wholetime director – a post created by amending the IDBI Act but never filled in. "The institution can have seven EDs. At least two to three chief GMs are likely to be promoted over the next few weeks once we get a clear picture whether Subramanyam is going to UTI or not," an IDBI insider said.