Who will be the next RBI governor?

Will D. Subbarao get an extension after his three-year term as India’s chief money manager comes to an end on 5 September? Newspaper and television channels have started speculating on Subbarao’s likely successor as well as an extension as Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor with right earnest. Each time an RBI Governor’s tenure comes to an end, this has been a normal practice in Indian media. This time around, three names have been doing the rounds—Raghuram Rajan, a University of Chicago professor, an Economic Advisor to the Prime Minister and former Chief Economist of the International Monetary Fund;  Kaushik Basu, Chief Economic Advisor in the finance ministry; and Economic Affairs Secretary R. Gopalan. And many believe Subbarao will get an extension. Before his predecessor Y.V. Reddy’s five-year came to an end in 2008, the media indulged in similar speculations. Reddy, one of the few RBI Governors who were given a five-year term from the beginning, had made it clear that he would not like to continue after his term expires. Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia was a strong contender for the post. Adarsh Kishore, an Executive Director at the International Monetary Fund, and Rakesh Mohan, then  Deputy Governor at RBI, were also in the fray. Mohan, the first Deputy Governor born after independence, came to RBI in late 2002 but, before finishing his three-year term, moved to Finance Ministry as Secretary of Economic Affairs, only to come back to the central bank after eight months. His familiarity with RBI and his reputation as an economist were the factors in his favour. He was even informally interviewed by then finance minister P. Chidambaram but ultimately Finance Secretary Subbarao was chosen for the post. If indeed Subbarao gets an extension, it won’t be a first for a serving Governor. In fact, Reddy’s predecessor Bimal Jalan, who served for six years, received an extension as did C. Rangarajan, who was Governor before Jalan, for five years. I am not aware whether the government has initiated any formal process to identify Subbarao’s successor. In fact, there is no formal process for such an appointment. There is no search committee to prepare a list of candidates. The Prime Minister ’s Office (PMO) chooses the Governor with inputs from the Finance Ministry and the outgoing Governor. The politicians of the ruling party, and even regional parties, do play a role in the selection but the corporate houses that normally try to influence the appointment of chiefs of commercial banks don’t have a voice here. In its 76-year history, only once has a commercial banker been appointed Governor—A. Ghosh—who held the post for three weeks in 1985. By tradition, bureaucrats and economists are considered for this post. Ahluwalia was also the strongest contender for the Governor’s post in 1997 when he was the finance secretary, but Jalan, then member secretary, Planning Commission, piped him to the post. Arjun Sengupta, also a member of the Planning Commission, was in the fray at that time. When Jalan moved out of Mint Road in September 2003 before completing his extended term to become a Rajya Sabha member, two bureaucrats were keen to replace him but neither N.K. Singh, then a special secretary at the PMO, nor S. Narayan, then finance secretary, could make it. Reddy, who was a deputy to Jalan as well as his predecessor Rangarajan, came back to head RBI, cutting short his stint as India’s director on the executive board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in Washington.  Jalan, RBI insiders say, was in favour of Reddy over others as he was not fond of the idea of a finance secretary moving to the Indian central bank directly from North Block, the secretariat building on Raisina Hill that houses the finance ministry. Apparently, he thought this would encourage bureaucrats to consider the RBI governor’s post as an automatic career progression. Jalan himself was a finance secretary but there was long gap between his stint at North Block and RBI. Reddy, it seems, did not push his deputy Mohan for the top job and Subbarao came directly from North Block. Bureaucrats in Delhi say Prime Minister is in favour of Rajan while the finance minister’s candidate is Basu. Meanwhile, newspaper reports suggest a couple of past RBI governors strongly feel that Subbarao should continue as he has been doing a fine job. There is no way I can confirm the veracity of such claims but there is no doubt that an early government announcement will help remove uncertainties that has gripped the financial sector. With inflation continuing to rule very high and many believing that India’s policy rate is coming close to a peak, balancing price stability and growth will be a tough task for the central bank in coming months. Apart from taming inflation, RBI also needs to close a few projects such as private entities’ entry into banking, savings bank rate deregulation and larger play for foreign banks. There have been enough discussions on these but no closure in sight as yet. One critical difference between Subbarao and his predecessors Jalan and Reddy is that the two past governors had competent deputies who could move to the corner room at the RBI headquarters in Mumbai but Subbarao’s deputies are relatively inexperienced for the top job at this point of time. During his five-year tenure, Reddy only raised rates to contain an overheating economy. Subbarao brought down the policy rate from 9% to 3.25% to prop up a sagging economy, and later, with the rise in inflation, pushed the rate up to 7.5%. This will probably rise a little more till September. So, his rate actions will take a V shape. If indeed Subbarao gets an extension, his rate actions may look different—three-fourth of a W.

Tamal Bandyopadhyay – Mint   

NextGen of RBI smart enough to “Think Quest”

The Oracle Education Foundation through “Think Quest” conducts the ThinkQuest International Competition amongst the school children. The children work in teams and work on various projects on issues of social and other interests under a coach who is their teacher. For this year’s competition under Digital media category four children of Kendriya Vidyalaya, Ganeshkhind, Pune choose financial inclusion and financial literacy as the theme and they designed a website on the topical theme. During their field work they visited bank branches, slums, etc to assess the level of financial penetration and awareness about financial inclusion. They interviewed Ms Kamala Rajan, CGM & Principal, CAB and other professionals involved in the field of financial inclusion. Dr K C Chakrabarty, Deputy Governor also interacted with them during his recent visit to Pune. The team won the Third Prize globally. 33,00 children in 7,603 teams from 52 countries participated in this year’s competition. The team comprised Ritwik (s/o Manas Ranjan Mohanty, MOF), Abhilash (s/o R.N.Panigrahi, MOF), Akshya and Shivaskandan. While Ritwik studies in Class X, the other children study in Class XII of K. V, Ganeshkhind. Mr C P Prasanth who teaches Chemistry was their project guide.

The citation for the award reads “The great disparity between rich and poor in India serves as an illustration of what is truly a global problem. This website uses field research, neighbourhood surveys, and interviews with experts to educate the audience on the issues of financial inclusion.” (www.thinkquest.org/library/winners/2011_digital).

It is naturally very befitting that two of the children who have some indirect association with CAB, an institution playing a stellar role in furthering the cause of financial literacy and financial inclusion winning an international award on a theme so dear to RBI’s heart. The url of the website is http://www.inclusivegrowth.co.cc/Home.html 

Ex-RBI deputy guvs for savings rate deregulation

Mumbai: Even as the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is weighing options on the deregulation of savings rates in the banking industry, three of its former Deputy Governors—Usha Thorat, SS Tarapore, Kishore Udeshi— have urged it to announce the measure without any delay. Thorat, said, “There are several issues related to the topic. First, the question being raised whether the rate on savings bank deposit be deregulated. I don’t think the issue needs to be discussed anymore. Secondly, the rate of interest on savings bank accounts has been negative for long. The question is why should savings bank rates be kept low at a time when the interest rates are going up’’ Currently, there are 55 crore savings bank accounts in the country. Rural and semi-urban areas in the country have been responsible for 40% of banks’ savings accounts in the country. Deregulation doesn’t necessarily mean that the rates can go up always. Rather, the rates falling below 3.5%, which was the rate before it was raised to 4%, can’t be ruled out, though such periods are quite short-lived. Since 2004, for most of the periods, short-term rates have always been more than that of the savings bank rates, pointed out Thorat. Thorat expected that savings bank rates will move more in tandem with short-term rates. “Yet another moot question is whether unhealthy competition will push up the rates. The rates would go up because they have been put low artificially. For a public sector bank (PSB), a considerable part of savings bank comes from rural and semi-urban areas. Dilemma before the PSBs is that they have to take a call on their depositors at the time of stiff competition. Also , should higher interest rates be paid without cheque book facility. Overall cost recovery is a good thing. It is reasonable to fix various service charges,’’ explained Thorat. Tarapore, suggested that deregulation should be implemented in the first half of the current fiscal itself and no discrimination should be allowed on the basis of size of deposits. “There should be a link between the short-term and long-term deposit rates. In the mature markets, the two rates are aligned,’’ said Tarapore. Udeshi who is also the chairman of Banking Codes & Standards of India (BCSBI) cautioned that the ratio of saving deposits to aggregate deposits is on the decline for past few years. “For decades, the depositors have been getting negative return. But, the competition will show that the return was better post deregulation. Banks are free to fix interest rate charges. The deregulation may lead to product innovation by banks.We must protect the depositors.” added Udeshi.

FE

IOB Sampoorna and IOB Smile launched

People’s cry for the chawanni

Bhopal : As the humble chawanni receives a nostalgia-soaked send-off from many Indians following the Reserve Bank’s refusal to give it any more quarter, some are ready to put up a last stand for the little guy-turned overnight hero. A BJP activist from Indore has moved court alleging the 25-paisa coin’s withdrawal from June 30 is illegal, while many others are dismayed at the silence of politicians and civil society on what they see as a “momentous decision with major financial implications”. One hitch is already being encountered in Madhya Pradesh’s post offices, which are charging 50 paise for the 25-paisa stamps that carry Jawaharlal Nehru’s picture and are used mainly to send medical literature and newspapers by book-post.  Paan shops and small groceries have been rounding off the bills, as are petrol pumps for those two-wheeler riders who buy in small amounts. Neighbourhood photocopiers have raised the rate from 75 paise to a full rupee, the bara aana now having died with its lifeblood, the chawanni. If all this sounds like small change, Bhopal-based industrialist and former head of a chamber of commerce, Rajendra Kothari, disagrees. He estimates that consumers in Madhya Pradesh would be losing Rs 700 crore a year because the 25-paisa coin has been abolished as legal tender. His charge against finance minister Pranab Mukherjee, under whose watch the decision came, is that “no thought was given” to the fact that levies like service tax and value-added tax are calculated “in rupees and paise”. “So, customers are being forced to pay extra for no fault of theirs,” Kothari said. Bhopal civil judge Varsha Sharma has issued a notice to the RBI after BJP activist Anil Bhargava sought a stay on the chawanni’s withdrawal. “Even some medicines are priced in rupees and paise. If the government doesn’t want the chawanni, why can it not announce that anything cheaper than 50 paise will not be charged and that anything over 50 paise will cost a whole rupee? It will at least even out customers’ expenses,” Bhargava said. They will not admit it but at bottom, the reactions of Bhargava and Kothari may have less to do with economic arguments and more with sentimental affection for the underdog and nostalgia for a time when it counted for something. Since last week, many ordinary Indians and celebrities have flooded social networking sites with laments for the quarter, recalling its role as their “tiffin allowance” at school, good enough to buy an ice-cream or chocolate bar —or at least a lozenge or toffee, if the writers are younger. Older Calcuttans will remember that the lowest tram fare was 25 paise even 30 years ago. For all that, the use of the coins, introduced in 1950, had already gone down because of inflation and very few people seemed to have any to return to the banks on June 29 (unless they were holding on to them as keepsakes).

The Telegraph

Growth conundrum: high rates hit industry, but prices out of control

.........."What started out as food inflation has become more generalised. We must use all policy instruments --- interventions in the foodgrains market and fiscal and monetary policies --- to bring down inflation to a more acceptable level," Rangarajan, a former RBI Governor, said...........

Read.................

Shoppers grapple with parking blues

CHANDIGARH: Lack of proper parking in Sector-17 not only poses a major problem for visitors, but also, it has turned out to be a menace for traders. Shopkeepers are claiming that due to improper parking conditions in the commercial hub of the city, visitors prefer to go to other places for shopping.  The parking problem in Sector-17 is going from bad to worse and the authorities seem the least bothered. MC is now planning to set up a parking lot near RBI office in Sector-17 and is completing formalities.

TOI

Release function of “India Development Report – 2011”

Is the RBI helpless in dealing with fake currency notes? - Vinod Vyasulu

There has been a spate of recent reports about fake currency notes which is really alarming. A few days ago, it was reported that the Bangalore branch of the Reserve Bank of India had filed a case against the branches of several reputed banks, including the State Bank of India and ICICI Bank for depositing fake currency notes with the RBI.

There was another report on July 4 from Lucknow saying that the RBI had filed a case against 20 well known banks for depositing fake currency notes with it. These were valued at over Rs 6 lakh. Mind you, fake notes circulating in posh areas, among the affluent, not the poor. And these are not isolated incidents, nor are they recent phenomena. It is a strange and yet serious matter that the custodian of currency in India has found no option of dealing with this issue than the courts of law. The courts can certainly penalise the banks if found to be in breach of law, perhaps a failure of due diligence at some level. It appears that the Bangalore incident was indeed a case of lack of diligence. But apart from issuing legal notices, nothing much is likely to happen. But the question is can the court, even if it penalises these banks for negligence, solve the problem of fake currency in circulation? That will be the responsibility of the Union government and the RBI. Conversely, cannot the banks file a counter case saying that they do not control the currency and if the RBI did its job properly, there would be no fake notes in circulation?   The Reserve Bank presently manages the currency operations through its 18 Issue Offices located in various cities. These offices receive fresh banknotes from the banknote printing presses. The Issue offices of RBI send fresh banknote remittances to the designated branches of commercial banks. That being case, the banks could well argue that these notes came from the RBI! There have been complaints of counterfeit currency for a long time from the public. People have been caught off guard at ATMs dispensing fake currency notes. Since the ATMs are controlled by the banks, the systems they have in place to keep fake notes out of circulation are clearly inadequate. We should welcome any improvements in this area.

Printing and smuggling

There have been reports in the Press that Pakistan has a policy of printing fake Indian currency notes and getting them smuggled into India through Nepal, Bangladesh etc. Now, with the RBI going to court against scheduled banks, this seems to have reached a new level of helplessness. Is the government abdicating its responsibility to maintain the currency, by asking the RBI to go to court? Does this absolve the RBI of its responsibility to maintain the sanctity of the currency? The Reserve Bank manages currency in India. The government, on the advice of the Reserve Bank, decides on various denominations of banknotes to be issued. The RBI also co-ordinates with the government in the designing of banknotes, including the security features. The RBI estimates the quantity of banknotes that are likely to be needed denomination-wise and accordingly, places indent with the various printing presses.  In recent years, there has been a shift from cash transactions to those based on electronic funds transfer, like debit and credit cards. Many transactions are conducted using cheques and drafts. This makes it possible for the RBI to consider demonitising high denomination notes, as was done in January 1978. This would make hoards of counterfeit cash useless. The RBI should consider demonitising Rs 500 and Rs 100 notes right away. That will immediately make the counterfeit notes worthless. The issue of identifying such notes, of inadequate due diligence, would also become unimportant—for a while at least. Those who stash black money in cash would also be hit. The RBI could give people, say about 15 days, to deposit their hoard of demonitised notes in any bank, along with their PAN number, and no questions would be asked, in converting some specified amount, like Rs 1 lakh. This would protect the honest people who for some reason had cash. The RBI could also consider a new design of currency notes, perhaps using different materials. Many countries do this in a routine way. Technology can be deployed for this purpose. The transition need not take long. This would be a blow against both counterfeit notes and black money. But it is not likely that the Union government, embroiled in the largest corruption cases this county has known, will ever take such steps. Cosmetic cases in court, which will have no effect, seem to be as far as it is willing to go. We cannot even hope for an improvement in the due diligence procedures.

(The writer was formerly RBI chair professor at ISEC, Bangalore) The Deccan Herald

FSDC to meet on July 27 to discuss growth prospects

New Delhi : The spectre of high inflation and a possible slowdown in the economy continue to weigh heavy on the government’s mind. The recently set up Financial Stability and Development Council is expected to discuss the issue in its next meeting. The FSDC, which consists of the four financial sector regulators and is chaired by finance minister Pranab Mukherjee, is scheduled to meet on July 27, a day after the central bank RBI presents the first quarterly review of the monetary policy.  The council is expected to discuss the macroeconomic scenario and prospects for growth. “It is a just review meeting to understand how the economy is faring and growth prospects for the year ahead,” a person close to the development said. The FSDC was set up by the government in the wake of the global financial crisis in 2008-09 and is aimed at better coordination between financial sector regulators to ensure macro-economic stability. While the economy is expected to grow between 8 and 8.5 per cent in 2011-12, the persistently high inflation and subsequent interest rate hikes by the RBI have curtailed India Inc’s expansion plans and led to fears of a possible slowdown. A burgeoning fiscal deficit is also being seen as a potential threat to the economy. Industrial production grew 6.3 per cent in April and is expected to have slowed down further in May.  Meanwhile, headline inflation rose to 9.06 per cent in May and is likely to have soared to double digits in June, following the government’s decision to hike prices of LPG, diesel and kerosene.  While the finance ministry has till now not pared down its growth forecast of close to 9 per cent in 2011-12, most economists expect GDP growth to be lower.  A worried government has held a number of meetings with investors and financial institutions. Finance minister Pranab Mukherjee discussed the economic prospects with institutional investors early last month asking them to stay optimistic about growth prospects.  The Prime Minister’s Economic Advisory Council also held a similar meeting to understand investors’ opinion about economic scenario.

IE 

Uday Kotak of Kotak Mahindra gets biggest raise, but Aditya Puri of HDFC Bank remained highest paid bank chief

Uday Kotak of Kotak Mahindra Bank led the executives pay increments in top banks last fiscal with a 58% jump, while Aditya Puri of HDFC Bank remained the highest paid bank chief as the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) debates capping fixed pay at 15%, and linking compensation to risk taken..........

Continue reading.............

Give bank licences to non-corporates: Former RBI governor C Rangarajan

... the former central bank governor says the government should explore giving bank licences first to non corporates, before allowing corporates in the field.....................

Read more...........

Provisioning for credibility - K P Shashidharan

The way banks have been providing for liabilities disproportionately in different quarters over the years came to the attention of all stakeholders and regulators when the fourth quarter results of State Bank of India (SBI) for 2010-11 devastated investor confidence and credibility in financial reporting. This impacted the bank major’s share price plummeting to one of its lowest marks............

Read............

Spruce up the data

......India's GDP statistics are widely watched across the globe. It is understandable that the data will need to be adjusted along the way at different stages. But the extent of revisions seen recently calls into question the dependability of the data..............

Read................... 

Official statistics need to be reliable -C. R. L. NARASIMHAN

Dissemination of economic data will facilitate a wider participation

It is not the first time that the reliability of official economic statistics has been publicly called into question. But Reserve Bank of India Governor D. Subbarao's well articulated and critical comments on the quality and availability of important economic data are in a separate league and ought to be viewed with all the seriousness they deserve. The RBI is perhaps the most important official user of the macroeconomic data. Monetary policy in India is not explicitly mandated to keep inflation low and stable. Yet, it needs to choose a measure of inflation as a reference. The Wholesale Price Index, despite its shortcomings, has emerged as the reference point. The RBI also generates high quality economic data. Its estimates of inflation and economic growth are widely watched. On GDP growth, the RBI's estimates have recently tended to be more conservative than the official ones. In its annual credit policy statement (May 3), the RBI sharply lowered its growth projections to around 8 per cent for 2011-12.  Obviously, the central bank depends on the official statistics to a large extent and even while it makes its own assessment, as with growth and inflation, makes copious reference to the official statistics. It is no one's case that officialdom is not aware of the shortcomings.  In fact, improvements in collection, collation and release of data have been taking place all the time. More than any other reason, the government itself needs reliable statistics to base its policy decisions on. Besides, the government had agreed a few years ago to comply with the International Monetary Fund's Special Data Dissemination Standards. Almost ten years ago, a committee headed by C. Rangarajan had suggested improvements in the official statistics and a road map for reaching certain goals. Despite all the nudging and commitment, the economic data generated falls short of what is needed for a modern, fast-growing and fast-integrating economy. It can only reflect on the complexity of the task. Primary data collection in a country so vast is obviously a stupendous task. Analysing and making the data available at a reasonable time are again a herculean task. In these circumstances, the good work being done by the National Statistics Commission and other official agencies is lost sight of. The government should seek to educate experts and lay people alike on the difficulties involved. A communication strategy, which inter alia stresses on the urgent need to spruce up the economic data and seeks widespread co-operation, should help in reducing the burden on those in charge of the statistics. Talking of education, this column has for long stressed the need to make the common person aware of the intricacies of decision making in the government, whether economic or political.  Obviously, dissemination of information on the relatively arcane subject of economic statistics will facilitate a wider participation in economic decision making. Outside interest on the Indian economy has never been higher. The country's macroeconomic data — the statements of the Finance Ministry, the RBI and others — are widely watched and interpreted. The growing integration of India with the rest of the world is the main reason. That is why quality economic data matters so much. The financial markets, especially the stock markets, are forever glued to data releases from India. Almost all businessmen need the data for a variety of purposes such as in their planning, formulating strategies and indeed in fixing production schedules. Consistent and reliable data influence business decision making positively. Dr. Subbarao's critical comments extend to the entire gamut of economic statistics. However, he chose to buttress his points with reference to the three key ones — the GDP growth data, the Index of Industrial Production (IIP) and the WPI. Citing concrete examples from the recent past, he said the data were neither reliable nor consistent. Extreme volatility as, for instance, in the IIP last year could mislead policymakers. The RBI underestimated its year-end estimate of inflation for March, 2011, pegging it at 5.5 per cent .The actual figure turned out to be a few percentage points higher. The GDP growth figures — perhaps the most widely watched — have also proved to be unreliable. In February, 2010, the advance estimate of GDP growth for 2009-10 was at 6.8 per cent. Just three months later, it was revised to 7.7 per cent and again in February, 2011, to 9.1 per cent, a revision of over 30 per cent in a year. Even conceding that the GDP data go through stages and are, hence, open to revision, the magnitude of change is staggering. As for relying on the WPI for monetary policy purposes, the Governor has pointed out that it is only a second best choice. The WPI is more like a producer price index and the only reason it is persisted with is because no viable alternative has emerged. Almost every other country relies on consumer price indices.  In India, the ongoing efforts on harmonising the various consumer price indices to arrive at one that is truly representative have not been successful so far. Finally, efforts at updating the data through new methodologies for constructing the indices have not yielded the desired results. The IIP has been revamped recently with its coverage extended and the base year brought forward. However, apart from not being able to overcome the deficiencies of the index it replaced, the new IIP might be already obsolete. Its base year is six years old and there have been frenetic changes in the structure of the industrial sector and manufacturing.

Business Line 

Microfinance: Bill to bring in order

.... The Reserve Bank Deputy Governor, Dr K.C.Chakrabarty, had said a few days earlier: “If we don’t act under a common set of regulations (for the microfinance industry), it won’t be practical to work. Five states having five different laws on the same subject will have practical difficulties for the industry.”..................

Read.........

Major role of technology in financial inclusion

..............Financial inclusion is a major agenda for the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). Without financial inclusion, banks cannot reach the un-banked. It is also a major step towards increasing savings and achieving balanced growth. ...............

Read..............

Invest in small, make it big

......In other South Asian countries such as Bangladesh, microfinance projects have helped 15 million people escape the trappings of poverty so far the sector has a massive scope for growth in a populous country such as India..............

Continue reading..........

A big step for small lenders

.... The attempt to treat microfinance organizations as quasi-banks is puzzling, since the reason microlenders have mushroomed is that banks have not done enough to promote financial inclusion. Yet, the draft Bill speaks of “promoting the growth and development of microfinance institutions as extended arms of the banks”. This may hinder growth of the sector......

Read more.......

RBI against changes in ADR, GDR voting rights

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is not in favour of market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India’s (Sebi) proposal to modify voting rights of holders of American or global depositary receipts, people aware of the development said. Sebi last year amended takeover rules with regard to such voting rights and asked the finance ministry and RBI to look again at the terms of issue. Terms of issue is the agreement between an issuing company and the global depository, which also determines the voting rights. Of the 111 such listed receipts, 57 empowers the management to exercise voting rights on their behalf. Only four companies give rights to receipt holders.  Sebi proposed that the terms of issue should not curtail rights of receipt holders and suggested removing the clause empowering management to exercise such voting rights.  RBI wants to further review Sebi’s proposal, the people said on condition of anonymity. It has concerns that the changes will bring the depository receipts at par with indian equity shares, they said.

Mint

India Exchange Rate Policies - Sunil Awasthi

.................A number of suggestions have been made from time to time calling for a shift in the RBI’s exchange rate policy. One strong recommendation made by S S Tarapore in 1997 in his first report on convertibility, which he reiterated in his second report of 2006, is that the RBI should attempt to follow a policy of maintaining a real effective exchange rate (REER) band which is tantamount to a fixed target within a wider band. The RBI, while acknowledging that REER could be an indicator from a medium-term perspective, refrained from using it for managing short-term rate movements..........

Read........... 

Expect a rate hike of 25 basis points: UCO Bank

.........."We expect that due to a sustained high inflation rate, the apex bank may hike the key rates by about 25 basis points at its quarterly review scheduled later this month," Arun Kaul, chairman and managing director (CMD), UCO Bank told ...........

Read..........