(This story originally appeared in on Aug 16, 2017)

NEW DELHI: Nomura India's head of fixed income business Neeraj Gambhir is in contention for the job of an RBI deputy governor along with public sector bank chiefs such as Arun Tiwari and Rakesh Sharma, marking a rare instance of a foreign bank executive joining the long list of candidates.RBI has four deputy governors — an economist, a commercial bank chief and two internal officers from the central bank. While three of the slots are already occupied, the tenure of S S Mundra recently ended, opening up a vacancy which the government is trying to fill.If Gambhir clears the appointment process, it will end the domination that public sector bankers have had for years. It will also signal the Narendra Modi administration's strategy to rope in experts from outside as it tries to reinvigorate government departments as well as regulatory bodies.For instance, the government opted for Urjit Patel (who worked in IDFC and Reliance) as RBI governor. Similarly, it has appointed a revenue service officer as the head of the Central Vigilance Commission , a job that was virtually reserved for officers from the IAS. It has also roped in an external expert in the sanitation department to push Swachh Bharat, instead of posting a regular bureaucrat. It has also shown a preference for younger officers and professionals to ensure a longer stint.Gambhir could not be reached for comment.Since October 2008, Gambhir has been head of the fixed income business for India at Nomura Holdings. He earlier served as the co-head of the fixed income business for India at Nomura Holdings until June 2012.He also served as the head of Nomura's credit business in the country, having joined the Japanese financial institution from Lehman Brothers in October 2008. He has 14 years of experience in Indian fixed income, currency and derivative markets and was also a director of the Clearing Corporation of India.