Ending months of indecision, the government is set to appoint a full-time chairman for life insurance giant LIC in the next 10 days, a top Finance Ministry official has said.

Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) has been without a full- time chairman since May, after then-Chairman T S Vijayan's five-year term ended.

As an interim arrangement, the Additional Secretary in the Finance Ministry, Rakesh Singh, was appointed as the Chairman of LIC. Subsequently, D K Mehrotra, the incumbent Managing Director, was asked to officiate as the chairman of the country's largest financial institution.

A selection panel headed by Economic Affairs Secretary R Gopalan had invited four probable candidates for the post in June. But the panel could not come to a decision, as two of the contenders did not have central vigilance clearance.

When asked about the names being discussed, Mittal said, "That's for the selection committee to decide. What I am saying is that this process is on and very shortly, you will get a final (decision)".

According to earlier reports, the shortlisted candidates -- all from within LIC's ranks -- include current Acting Chairman D K Mehrotra, Managing Director Thomas Mathew and executive directors A K Sahoo, T T Mathew and K B Saha.

Several questions have been raised about the government's inability to find a full-time leader for LIC, which has assets exceeding Rs 10 lakh crore, especially at a time when it faces competition from over 23 aggressive private players following the opening up of the sector a decade ago.