As the country’s largest bank State Bank of India prepares to bid farewell to its present chairman Pratip Chaudhuri on Monday, it is looking at the prospect of being headed by its first woman chairperson Arundhati Bhattacharya, currently the managing director of the bank.

According to media reports, Bhattacharya and another managing director S Viswanathan were in the fray for the top job.

Bhattacharya’s name, which was finalized by a selection committee including Reserve Bank of India governor Raghuram Rajan and financial services secretary Rajiv Takru, has been forwarded to the appointments committee of the cabinet (ACC) headed by prime minister Manmohan Singh for the final approval. Bhattacharya, who became the first woman managing director of SBI in August, is likely to assume office this week.