These directors are appointed for a three-year period and are entitled to a Rs 5,000 fee for every Board meeting they attend (roughly eight in a year) and an additional Rs 2,500 for every sub-committee meeting. Perks include travel and accommodation for each board meeting.

The Independent (Faithful) Directors:

• Ram Chandra Khuntia, ANDHRA BANK, One of the 32 secretaries of the All India Congress Committee. Was Congress Rajya Sabha MP until 2004.

• Masarrat Shahid. BANK OF BARODA. Congress leader from Madhya Pradesh. Contested 2003 Assembly elections from Sironj.

• Maulin A Vaishnav. BANK OF BARODA. Chief of the Congress Sewa Dal in Gujarat

• Prabha K Taviad. BANK OF INDIA. Gujarat Pradesh Mahila Congress Secretary, appointed Vice President of the All India Mahila Congress in 2006. Lost the April 2004 election from Godhra.

• Shantaben Chavda. BANK OF INDIA. Former Gujarat Mahila Congress President. An ex-MLA who lost the 2002 Assembly elections from Rajkot (rural), now Vice President of the Gujarat Pradesh Congress.

• A Ali Azizi. BANK OF MAHARASHTRA. Former member of the Rebublican Party who joined the Congress in 2001 and was appointed secretary of the party’s OBC wing. Lost the 1995 Assembly elections from Nehru Nagar.

• Pankaj Gopalji Thakkar. CANARA BANK. A contractor whose mother Ushaben Thakkar was a former Congress MP from Gujarat. In 2004, Thakkar formally joined the Congress and helped with the general election campaign in Gujarat.

• Maj (retd) Ved Prakash. CENTRAL BANK OF INDIA. Secretary, AICC.

... contd.