New Delhi: The Human Resource Development (HRD) Ministry has short listed four names for appointment of Directors at the elite Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) at Bangalore and Ahmedabad.

The Ministry has short listed Mr. Pankaj Chandra of IIM-A as Director of IIM-B and Mr. Sameer K Barua, also of IIM-A, as Director of IIM-A, J Ramachandran of IIM-B for the top job at IIM-B and G Raghuram of IIM-A for the directorship at IIM-A.

According to ministry sources, these names have been short listed on the basis of recommendations made by the search-cum-selection committee headed by IIM Kolkata's governing body chairman Mr. Ajit Balakrishnan.

The files are now with the Department of Personnel & Training from where it will be sent to the Cabinet Secretary for approval by the Home Minister followed by the Prime Minister.

The formal announcement for these two top positions is likely to be made next week as IIM-A Director Bakul Dholakia retires on October 9.

The above listed persons are well-known names in some of the most significant areas of management and economics.

Mr. Pankaj Chandra is an engineering graduate from IT, BHU and has a PhD from Wharton. He is currently professor of Operations & Technology Management at IIM-A and is chairperson of its doctoral programme. He is also associated with National Knowledge Commission (NKC).

Mr. Barua is considered an expert on capital markets, portfolio theory and international finance. He is also a policy maker for the Indian Government and is presently one of the members of the IIM-A governing body.

J Ramachandran is a professor of business policy at IIM, Bangalore. A CA with a PhD from IIM-A, Ramachandran is now a visiting professor at Wharton and has been a consultant to Daimler Chrysler, HP, Wipro, and Infosys.

Mr. Raghuram, an expert on infrastructure and transportation systems, is now an IIM-A professor in Public Systems group. A B.Tech (Electrical engineering) from IIT-Madras, Mr. Raghuram completed his MBA from IIM-A and PhD from the Kellogg School. His significant work has been the preparation of study paper on Indian Railways and its turnaround.