In a response to an add put out by SBI last month for 11000 clerical posts across the entire nation, 36.11 lakh people have applied, most of the applicants being MBAs and post graduates. This is probably a first of its kind for any bank.

The surprising numbers can be attributed to mainly two factors, firstly a slowdown in the economy and secondly, a freeze on recruitment in both the public and private sectors. A senior official of the bank said, "This was the first ad after a long time for recruitment to a nationalised bank, and therefore the deluge.''

The bank is now considering how to conduct the exam since the number of applicants is huge. The official said that it had been proposed to conduct exams in three phases and two shifts on 8th, 15th and 22nd but it was yet to be finalised.

A long time freeze on recruitments and retirement of existing officers resulted in such a huge number of openings in SBI. Out of 11000 posts, 1100 are reserved for Maharashtra. More than half a million applied from the state.

Earlier this year, public sector banks introduced the voluntary retirement scheme to do away with the idle human resources. This along with a freeze in recruitment led to a shortage of staff of the banks and that is the reason public banks are on hiring spree.

Overall, the public sector banking industry is estimated to recruit more than 40,000 employees by the end of this fiscal.