Dr. D. Subbarao, Governor, Reserve Bank of India will announce the Monetary Policy Statement 2011-12 on Tuesday, May 3, 2011. This will be done in a meeting with the chief executives of major scheduled commercial banks at 11.00 a.m. on May 3, 2011 at the Central Office, Reserve Bank of India, Mumbai.
The very purpose of VITALINFO is to provide a platform for wider dissemination of updated information related to and happening of events in and around RBI.
Sunday, April 3, 2011
I Can Do Financial Planning - Book Review by P. P. Ramachandran
Swapna Mirashi is a Financial Literacy Consultant and author of two books. She was a member of the Steering Committee of Financial Literacy of the Reserve Bank of India. Mirashi developed a comprehensive rural financial literacy manual for ICOCI Bank and is a regular contributor to financial journals. The book under review is a manual of financial planning. Financial planning is a process of planning and managing your current finances to meet your goals. Income, expenses, savings, assets and liabilities have to be so organised as to secure your aims - buying of a house, provide for education and wedding of your children and plan your retirement. This is a well- organised step by step manual enriched with smart worksheets and checklists. It encourages you to design your own personal financial plan. Almost every page contains a box that highlights important concepts. The first step is to set clearly your goals - with a time frame. If your start planning early in your career you have to set aside less money each month. A basic need is to assess clearly your financial position. It is advisable to have realistic goals commensurate with your assets and income. A cogent analysis of your financial needs is a must. Set reasonable goals and take firm steps to achieve them. The next subject tackled is ' investment'. Seek out profitable avenues like provident fund, fixed deposits and ensure a good balance between growth and steady income. Acquire a thorough knowledge of avenues of investment. Arrive at an ideal portfolio. Due to inflation you have to invest in such a way that the value of your money is retained. A wise management cycle is to save regularly - invest wisely - spend intelligently and at the same time ensure your security. ou have to master the process of investing, gauging risks and taking right decisions. There are various investment channels - some riddled with risks and some high yielding. Study stocks and shares and available exemptions. ou can arrange your investment portfolio and review periodically your holdings. Another crucial area is planning and managing your debt portfolio. ou have to be aware of risks involved. Risk is the possibility of a loss or negative out come. Vulnerability to risks varies from individual to individual. You have to be aware of certain practices that inevitably lead to risk. This manual offers guidance on methods of managing and overcoming risks. Information is offered on briefly on regulators like RBI, SEBI and those who regulate insurance market and pension fund market. It is safe and essential to build an emergency fund to combat risks, Different types of risks are analysed. The manual provides sample planning steps to achieve common financial goals. The volume has a valuable glossary, a tiny list of books ( why no books by India analysts are included is not clear) and a number of useful websites. The Governor of the Reserve Bank of India Dr. D. Subbarao, who contributes a " Foreword" rightly, hails the book as: " A rewarding learning experience." Surely this manual is very valuable and offers an easy- to- implement advice to wise financial planning. The Reserve Bank deserves warm praise for bringing out this book as part of its efforts to encourage financial literacy. THIS BOOK IS AN ATTEMPT TOWARDS EQUIPPING THE READERS WITH THE SKILLS OF PLANNING AND BUDGETING FOR A FINANCIALL SECURE FUTURE.
After fast food, drive-through banking
A concept more usually associated with burger or vada pav sale outlets has been found to work well with the business clientele of banks. The idea in question is the ‘drivethrough’ facility, where a customer comes to an outlet in his or her vehicle and transacts the business without getting out of it. “I went to America 12 years ago and saw this kind of banking,” says Jyotindra Mehta, now chairman of the Gujarat Urban Cooperative Banks Federation. He used to be the chairman of Rajkot Nagarik Sahakari Bank Ltd (RNSBL) and thought it was worth trying. There were logistic issues with the branches at Rajkot, and it was decided to try the experiment at the south Gujarat city of Surat, 470 km away, where there was a single branch. In that bustling commercial centre, people are generally in a hurry; in addition, the Surat branch (it has about 50,000 acount holders) had a growing problem in offering vehicle parking. Thus began the experiment with a drive-through bank. The clientele liked it. They could make cash and cheque transactions without getting out of the car, at a window. And so, in time, it was decided to offer it in Rajkot, too. There were some limitations, so instead of cash and cheque (in Surat, one can now make cash transactions up to `1lakh through the window) facilities, it was decided to offer only those for demat transactions. That began a year before. “You just drive in a car to the window and transact,” says Bhavesh Rajdev, branch manager of the demat division of RNSBL. About 35,000 demat holders are entitled. “When the market is good, it is around 100 a day.” “We will implement the drive-through banking facility in other branches, too. But we need to set up proper infrastructure and it will take some time,” says Kalpak Maniyar, chairman of RNSBL.
Anganwadi awaits RBI model village
LOHARDAGA: The construction of an anganwadi centre at the RBI's model village Doba under Kuru block in Lohardaga, which was undertaken in December 2010, is yet to be completed. The Reserve Bank of India has adopted the village under its model village banking programme, while the district administration had promised to take special care on development work here. The construction of the anganwadi centre at Doba Bar Toli undertaken under the Backward Region Grant Fund (BRGF) scheme was scheduled to be completed by December 2010. Incidentally, the work began in early December when the administration was gearing up to welcome RBI governor D Subbarao. The work came to a halt as soon as the governor's programme concluded. Deputy commissioner Ratan Kumar said the delay in the work was due to a dispute between villagers over the selection of site, which ended in November before the work started. "I was informed about the problem by block level officials. I will look into the matter," he said. The DC said plans were ready to be implemented. "Soon the village road will be black-topped. This scheme is being taken under the Integrated Action Plan."
No more fights with BEST bus conductors over change
Now, you won’t have to fight over change with the bus conductor. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has agreed to give Rs25 lakh in coins every month to the Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) undertaking. Earlier, the RBI used to give Rs16 lakh in coins every month to the undertaking. “Passengers have been complaining about the lack of change. Often arguments take place between the conductor and passengers. So, we had requested the RBI to give us more money in coins and they agreed to give us Rs 25 lakh a month,” said Sanjay Potnis, BEST committee chairman. The Siddhivinayak Mandir Trust in Prabhadevi has also agreed to give Rs 2 lakh in coins, whenever the public undertaking wants.“Now, we are getting more than enough from the RBI so there is no need take coins from anyone else,” said a BEST official on condition of anonymity because of protocol issues. Commuters are very happy with RBI’s decision. Versova resident Nikita Dalal, who travels by bus every day to Bandra, said, “This news is a big relief. I often face this problem. Now, I will demand change from the conductor.
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