Advertise with care

Now a days commercials seem better than TV programmes but ad makers should not take too much liberty with their subjects.  A bank that wants to show that its ATMs offer a choice of currency denominations uses a wedding procession as a backdrop, with the bridegroom wearing a garland of currency notes. It is irresponsible of a bank commercial to feature a situation that clearly violates the Reserve Bank of India’s Clean Note Policy. - K R Vaikuntam, Thrissur

RBI definition of Financial Inclusion

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in December 2009 changed the definition of financial inclusion by stating that financial inclusion is not restricted merely to opening of bank accounts but must also include the provision of all financial services like credit, remittance and overdraft facilities for the rural poor.

Overhaul for foreign banks

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is set to open the doors for foreign banks to expand in the country, but is likely to link it to the policies of the country from which the bank desiring to expand in India hails. Government sources told Hindustan Times that the central bank is likely to take into consideration the principle of “reciprocity” while allowing foreign banks to set up branches or subsidiaries in India.

Regulators test their autonomy

The standout regulator controversy was the turf war between the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (Irda) and the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) over the unit-linked insurance plans (Ulips), the popular hybrid mutual-fund-cum-insurance products. It was a battle that was avidly followed as much for its significance as the personalities of J Harinarayan of Irda and C B Bhave of Sebi, both former bureaucrats. In some ways, it also demonstrated the point that in India, the question of regulator “autonomy” is ephemeral at best. The Union finance ministry set a cat among the pigeons by using the Sebi-Irda tussle to pass an ordinance increasing its own regulatory powers over the Reserve Bank of India. A non-plussed and beleaguered RBI regained ground when former RBI governors cried foul and came to the central bank’s support. The soft spoken RBI Governor Duvvuri Subbarao voiced widely-shared fears about central bank autonomy and North Block backed off a bit, but not fully. The RBI-FinMin saga is yet to fully play out.

Pratip Chaudhuri set to head SBI

State Bank of India Deputy Managing Director Pratip Chaudhuri is likely to replace incumbent Chairman O P Bhatt when he retires in March 2011 after completing his five-year term. The finance ministry has cleared Chaudhuri for the top job at the country’s largest bank. The selection is subject to approval by the appointments committee of the Cabinet and the Prime Minister. Chaudhuri, who is also group executive of international banking at the staterun lender, was actually interviewed for the managing director’s post earlier this month, along with three other deputy managing directors: Hemant Contractor (head of corporate & wholesale banking), K Krishna Kumar (head of IT), and Diwakar Gupta (head of rural & national banking). The four were also candidates to the top job at SBI. A search committee headed by Reserve Bank of India Governor D Subbarao shortlisted the names of Chaudhuri and Contractor for the post. With the selection of Chaudhuri as SBI chairman, Contractor, Gupta and Kumar will be made managing directors. SBI will have four managing directors, following a recent amendment to the SBI Act, which increased the number of posts. At present, SBI has only one Managing Director, R Sridharan, after S K Bhattacharya retired in October. Sridharan is due to retire in June. Sources said the government wanted to select a person with at least two years of residual service for the chairman’s post. Chaudhuri, 56, with his rich experience in banking, fit the eligibility criteria. Just like Bhatt, he also joined SBI as a probationary officer in 1974. He took charge as deputy managing director & group executive (international banking) of SBI in April 2009.

Mobile user verification will be based on UID Number

The Unique Identification (UID) Number project, which is poised to use the vast 700 million plus mobile subscriber database and distribution network to help complete the project, will in turn become the basis of issuing mobile connections in the future. UID Number will be the definitive proof for subscriber verification.

Noted cardiac surgeon R K Panda hurt in road mishap

The internationally renowned cardio-vascular and thoracic surgeon and director of the Mumbai based Asian Heart Institute, Dr Ramakant Panda, was injured in a road mishap in Nagaon district in Assam when his car collided head-on with a speeding truck.  Dr Panda sustained injuries on his head. His son Saswat (20) also sustained some injuries, Nagaon deputy commissioner M Angamuthu said.  The incident took place at around 1:45 pm at Samaguri, about 200 km east of Guwahati.  The renowned surgeon, who had successfully conducted multiple heart surgeries on Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi, is a state guest and was travelling along with his wife, son and daughter to the Kaziranga National Park from Guwahati. He was first admitted to the Nagaon Civil Hospital and was later airlifted to Guwahati.

Sebi, RBI to discuss global indices futures

Sebi will be meeting RBI officials shortly to discuss the proposal on introduction of futures trading on overseas indices at the local exchanges.The National Stock Exchange (NSE) had approached Sebi seeking approval for launching futures trading on popular global indices like S&P 500 and Dow Jones Index of US, denominated in rupees.