The finance ministry has sought relaxation in the eligibility norms for selection of chairman of the State Bank of India (SBI) so as to have more candidates to interview for the top post at the countrys largest bank. To have suitable panel of candidates,we have requested Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) for exemption in regulatory guidelines, said Rajiv Takru,secretary,financial services. The current chairman Pratip Chaudhuri,is to retire next month. As per the existing norms a candidate is eligible if he/she has at least two years of service left. As per the guidelines only one of the four MDs,Arundhati Bhattacharya,is eligible. However,there have to be at least two candidates in the selection process. Relaxing the residual service norm would enable others to appear for the interview,an official said.
