Jammu And Kashmir Govt Appoints J-K Bank Director, Then Asks Him To Sit At Home outlookindia.com

The government had insisted for a long that it would split the post of the chairman and the MD of J&K bank but has continued with the ad hoc arrangement. Six months after appointing the new Managing Director (MD) of J&K Bank, the government hasn’t made any effort to get clearance for him from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). This leaves the incumbent in-charge chairman of the bank with the dual post of Chairman and Managing Director (CMD). This ad hoc arrangement continues despite the government having pledg ed to split the post of the chairman and the MD of the bank. Senior government officials are reluctant to talk about the issue on the record, describing it a non-issue, and insist that they have brought about transparency in the bank and have made it one of the safest banks in the country. On April 24, 2020, J&K bank invited applications for the position of MD. According to sources, 38 candidates applied for the post in response to the advertisement. On May 12, 2020, interviews were held for shortlisted candidates by a search committee constituted by the government and comprising three members under the chairmanship of Ex Union Corporate Affairs Secretary, Tapan Ray, Financial Commissioner, J&K, Dr. Arun Kumar Mehta, and Officer on Special Duty (OSD) in the Department of Financial Services, Union Ministry of Finance, Anan, d Madhukar.

A senior vice president at HDFC Bank, Zubair Iqbal was finally selected and appointed to the post of MD. On May 15, 2020, the Government of J&K, Finance Department issued the order nominating him as a government nominee for the director on the Board of J&K Bank for a period of three years. Thereafter, the Board of Directors of J&K Bank Ltd. in its Board meeting held on May 17, 2020, passed a resolution appointing him as Managing Director for a period of three years.