New Delhi, May 30: IIM Bangalore director Pankaj Chandra has declined a government offer to reappoint him to the top post of the institute.

Chandra has expressed his inability to take up the responsibility to the chairperson of the institute’s board of governors, Mukesh Ambani.

The decision has been conveyed to the HRD ministry by Ambani, the chairperson and managing director of Reliance Industries Ltd, who has requested the government to initiate the process to appoint Sushil Vachani instead. Vachani, whose name is second on the list of recommendations, is currently professor for strategy and innovation at the Boston University School of Management.

Chandra has cited no specific reason for his decision, sources told The Telegraph.

Chandra’s name was recommended along with the names of Vachani and another professor for the top job by the board of IIM Bangalore four months ago. Under the norms, the board has to send three names for the director’s post and the ministry will choose one and send it to the appointment committee of cabinet (ACC) headed by the Prime Minister for final approval. After clearance by the ACC, the board is informed about it and the new director is appointed.

The ministry had chosen Chandra, whose name topped the three-candidate list sent by the board. Chandra, a professor of production and operations management in IIM Bangalore, was first appointed as director in December 2007. Chandra is on extension now after his tenure got over in December last year.

Chandra’s refusal is one of the several such cases that the ministry experienced in recent years. In 2011 March, professor Sukanta Chaudhuri of Jadavpur University had declined the offer to become the vice chancellor of the English and Foreign Language University, Hyderabad. Chaudhuri told the ministry that his consent was not taken before appointing him to the post.

In May 2011, professor R. Srinivasan of IIM Bangalore turned down the offer to take over as the first director of the newly started IIM Kashipur in Uttarakhand. Srinivasan cited family problems to decline the appointment.

Chandra’s name was earlier considered for the post of the chairperson of the University Grants Commission. Based on recommendations of a search committee, then HRD minister Kapil Sibal had recommended Chandra for the UGC top job while professor Seyed Hasnain was the second choice.

However, the recommendation came under scrutiny after the ACC got complaints from several parliamentarians that Hasnain had been deliberately ignored.

The Prime Minister’s Office then asked the HRD ministry to suggest more names for the post. The ministry sent three more names and Ved Prakash was appointed as UGC chief in January this year. Chandra, sources said, was not very happy about the manner in which he lost out in the competition.