The search-cum-selection committee for the appointment of a new chairman of the University Grants Commission (UGC) has shortlisted a list of top contenders. The list includes IIM-Bangalore director Prof Pankaj Chandra, Koraput Central University V-C Prof Surabhi Banerjee, former V-C of Hyderabad University Prof S E Hasnain and acting chairman of UGC Prof Ved Prakash.

The committee will now hold interaction/interviews with each of them before sending a list of three names to the HRD Ministry later this month.

While Banerjee is the official biographer of the late Left leader Jyoti Basu, her appointment as Pro V-C of Calcutta University had earlier run into trouble. She currently heads the new Central University in Orissa.

Prof Hasnain has been a contender for the top jobs at DU, JNU and a clutch of other top central educational institutes.

Prof Chandra, a visiting professor at a host of international varsities, has a number of publications to his credit and is also on the board of several firms and institutions.

It is learnt that while Prof Prakash’s candidature was at first re-considered owing to the fact that his area of expertise and experience is largely in the school education sector, the fact that he has been engaged with UGC for nearly a year now has brought him back in the reckoning. Prakash is also considered the government’s favourite for the job.