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.
Tuesday, March 5, 2013
Banking licence aspirants need innovative financial inclusion plans: RBI
Financial inclusion is key for new licence: Subbarao
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| .........“A part, indeed an important part, of the mandate of central banks is financial stability and an essential prerequisite for financial stability is financial literacy and [the] central bank has a unique leverage in providing financial literacy.”......... |
Improve rules for fiscal regime: RBI
.....The Indian experience, according to the report, suggested that fiscal rules, though necessary, weren’t sufficient to optimise the outcomes of the fiscal-monetary co-ordination. In this context, the report felt that the rules for fiscal regime could be improved by focusing on structural deficit, adopting broader definition of both deficit and debt to cover quasi-fiscal activities and removing ambiguity on exceptions by including expenditure rules to deficit rules.......
FM to address RBI board on Friday
New Delhi: Finance Minister P Chidambaram will address the Central Board of the Reserve Bank in a customary post-Budget meeting here on Friday. The minister is likely to inform the RBI board about the steps taken to contain fiscal deficit and may underline the need for reducing interest rates to promote growth..........
Continuity at the top
Reserve Bank of India is one statutory body in the country which has been able to withstand the pangs of succession issues at the top for more than 7 decades of its existence, thanks to the maturity shown by those in charge of governance in Delhi. Recent developments brings to the fore the need to recall this and get a reassurance that whims and fancies of individuals destined to take decisions will not change this image. In 2011, the timely decision by Centre to give a two-year extension to RBI Governor Dr Subbarao stood apart as a decisive vote for stability at the Central Bank. This ensured continuity of policy perspective at a time when it was needed most and strengthened the RBI to pursue the right course it was following in different areas of its responsibility. A change of guard at that time would have resulted in slowing down of the processes of change in areas like fighting inflation, forex reserves management, financial inclusion and outreach and transparency in policy prescriptions where Dr Subbarao has made perceptible progress. Recent developments which saw easing out of a Deputy Governor (Subir Gokarn) for no fault of his and compulsions to retain another Deputy Governor for another year calls for a review of the selection and placement procedure at that level. Perhaps the pool from which selection is made and the age profile (raising the upper age limit by 3 to 5 years from the present ‘normal’ at 62 years) need a review. In the circumstances, it would be most appropriate to extend the tenure of Governor Dr Subbarao who is to retire within months, initially by another year at this juncture. Formulating and implementing succession plans for top government/public sector jobs with professionalism and efficiency in a graceful manner is imperative for allowing the institutions to function with reasonable functional autonomy within the legislative mandates. Another point is that it will be next to impossible to attract talent to these government positions, given the meager remuneration offered. It is time to revise this, factoring in market realities. The present practice has resulted in compromises on quality and the nation can ill-afford this state of affairs.
- M G Warrier, Thiruvananthapuram
India should grow by at least 8%, says RBI Deputy Governor
NEW DELHI, MARCH 4: India should grow by at least 8 per cent year-on-year to make some meaningful dent on poverty, RBI Deputy Governor K.C. Chakrabarty has said. Unless the country grows by at least 8 per cent, it will not survive, Chakrabarty told Business Line on the sidelines of India-OECD-World Bank regional conference on financial education here today........
Need to review debt mgmt shift: RBI study
...... a debt management office of the government was in the works for the past couple of years. “An important rethink in this process, however, was earlier set in motion by Governor Subbarao of the Reserve Bank…,” said the report put out by RBI’s Department of Economic and Policy Research. The report went on to quote Governor Subbarao on the interdependence between the functions of monetary policy, financial stability and sovereign debt management and the need for close association of the central bank with sovereign debt management,......
Culture, values, motivation and morale - thy name is Sandip, be sure..........
Shri Sandip Ghose has carved a niche for himself in the annals of RBI history. If any single Officer of the Bank who can be credited to have contributed to the culture, values, motivation and morale of the staff members and the Bank's customers as a consequence and thereby the society at large, it is none other than Shri Ghose. I had the privilege of being associated with him for some time and I must unhesitatingly say that he is one of the very few individuals in the Bank with superlative caliber, leadership acumen and vision. Even though he could not become an ED or DG, Shri Ghose has earned a name that exalts him much above the rank. Awards are recognition of one's achievements, but more than that Shri Ghose will be welcomed, received and treated royally by majority of RBIites even after his retirement. How many senior Officers would receive such a treatment? Though it is too early to wish him a happy retired life I may assure him that he has earned a lot of blessings and prayers from staff members and their families during his service in the Bank. I am sure that those prayers will stand him in good stead in his next innings. May God bless him and his family.
- P.E. Thomas Panicker
- P.E. Thomas Panicker
Endless list of all the praise for Sandip..........
Just read the VITALINFO of the day. I am in complete agreement with the views (udgaars) expressed by Mr. Thomas about Dr. Sandip Ghose. Dr. Sandip is one and the only one person in the recent history of RBI who has got so much goodwill amongst all the employees in RBI and outside RBI as well. In early nineties, we both had the opportunity to work together on the Central Committee of RBI Officers’ Association, he being the Secretary of our Patna / Lucknow Units and I being the representative of Mumbai World Trade Centre. Even during those days, Dr. Sandip was one of the most vocal champions of Officers’ cause and welfare in RBI. Unlike the present, those were very hard days when the Associations had to struggle even for the smallest of the benefits. In the latter part of nineties- on his transfer to Mumbai when he was appointed as Executive Assistant to the Governor and I as All India General Secretary of RBI Officers’ Association, our interaction was quite frequent. I have no hesitation to admit that most of the improvements in our salary structure (most of our young colleagues may not be aware that till 1997, our Officers from AGMs to GMs cadre were getting lesser salary scale that their counter parts in the banking industry) introduction of new facilities and upgradation of existing facilities, post scale increment, Linking of Petrol, Central Bank Allowance, promotion from the date of declaration of result, and above all the introduction of 5-day week, would had been hard to come in RBI but for the vision and active support of Mr. Ghose and his ability to put across the issues before the Governor, being one of the Most Important Functionaries of the Bank. If I continue to count, the list would be endless.
The next opportunity to work closely with Mr. Sandip came in my way when he took over as CGM In-charge of HRDD - which he later got renamed as HRMD, and I as General Manager was looking after HR and Welfare portfolios in Central Office. Directly working with Mr. Sandip for the Bank, I can vouch was a pleasant experience in itself and I enjoyed the most. This one and half years of my service in HRMD with Mr. Sandip at the helm of affairs of the Department, was most valuable period of my entire career in the Bank . It was really wonderful to work with you Mr. Ghose and I thank you for all the guidance and support for which I shall ever remain obliged. I wish he should have been around there in RBI for some more time to lay strong foundation for our next wage revision and of course for clinching the issue of Pension updation.
Much that I would have wished was to participate in his departmental farewell but being away in Australia, I am missing the opportunity. Nonetheless, on my return I would call on him in his new office and am sure he would spare some of his valuable time for his ex-colleague. Thank you Mr. Ghose for all you did for all of us and wish all the best to your family and you in your new assignment.
I also thank the VITALINFO for keeping all of us abreast of these developments.
- M. L MAHAJAN
ATMs in police stations soon!
AHMEDABAD: The state home department and Reserve Bank of India (RBI) have found an innovative solution for ATM thefts in the state. Soon, you would find ATM machines placed inside police stations and chowkis across Gujarat. .........
Steps taken to address high current account deficit: Government
........On measures taken to check the menace of fake currency notes, the minister said RBI has incorporated new security features in banknotes and has given instructions to banks to disburse only sorted and genuine notes through their counter/ATMs. Asked whether there is shortage of coins of various denominations in the country, Meena said the complaints of shortage of coins are mainly in Re 1 and Rs 5 segment. On measures taken to address the problem, he said that more remittance of coins were sent to Currency Chests (CCs) in the areas where shortage of coins was reported and banks have been advised to organise coin melas for issue of coins to members of public among other measures.
FM wants a rate cut, Subbarao says 5-6% growth insufficient
.......“Well I can’t direct Reserve Bank to do this or to do that. All I can say is as statement of fact — if policy rates are reduced it will help us to get 6.5 per cent growth that we have target,” he told PTI in a post Budget interview. ”I am sure that monetary policy advisory committee to the Governor will take note of all that we have done, all that we have promised to do and advise him appropriately and I am sure Governor will take the decision in his best judgement,” he said...........
Why Subbarao can’t cut rates; only Chidambaram can
......To conclude, there is very little that the D Subbarao, RBI Governor, can do to push down interest rates. In fact interest rates are totally in the hands of the government. If the government can somehow control inflation, interest rates will start to come down automatically. For that to happen subsidies in particular and high government expenditure in general will have to be controlled. And that is not going to happen anytime soon.
RBI may need to review margin funding of shares by NBFCs
The recent wave of selling in midcap shares could have partly to do with promoters and brokers exploiting a regulatory loophole in rules for margin financing of shares by non-banking finance companies (NBFCs), say some market players. That could prompt the RBI to tighten rules for capital market exposure by NBFCs when the recommendations on the Usha Thorat Committee (NBFC guidelines) are considered.............
FIIs cannot buy Yes Bank shares as cap breached: RBI
........" Yes Bank has crossed the overall limit of 49 per cent of its paid-up capital. Therefore, no further purchases of share of this company would be allowed through stock exchanges in India on behalf of FIIs," RBI said in a statement...........
Banking In Trouble
.........Like every other sphere of activity, banks also suffered in militancy. It was during the initial days of militancy when banks ceased functioning totally. In panic, banks like Andhra Bank, the State Bank of Patiala and Indian Bank stopped their operations, closed branches, fled and resumed work in Jammu. Even the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and the NABARD closed down their offices in Srinagar and started their operations from Jammu. Others with a huge network shifted branches from “dangerous” to “safer zones” with some of their premises converted into mini-garrisons..............
Indian women prefer more flexibility at workplace: Survey
....."A majority of women (63 per cent) worldwide define professional success as having the right balance between work and personal life and nearly three quarters of women (74 per cent) believe they can have it all," the study titled 'What Women Want @ Work' said.....
My View on "Madurai had its all women bank branch in the 1940s..."
While there are so many news items about various womens banks in different parts of the country, surprising that SEWA Bank Ahmedabad, perhaps the most successful womens bank in the country and more than two decades old is not mentioned by anybody.
- M.V.Ashok, CGM, NABARD
Maharshtra Regional office, Pune
A bank exclusively for women, by women, but owned by the government. How’s that?
.....In order to speed up the process of setting up branches in rural and semi-urban centres, the best option for the government is to seek the services of female employees on a loan basis in adequate numbers from every public sector bank, so that the new bank is able to get trained and experienced employees to start operating in right earnest, without going through the elaborate process of recruitment, training and skill development. These employees, who opt to work for the new bank can be given the deputation allowance.....
All-women bank: empowering women or eye on the polls?
......Setting up one bank will not and cannot cater to all the women in India. What we need is more hiring of women in the public sector banks. We need sensitising of the existing bank employees to the problems of women, both at the administrative and lending level. The public sector banks must hire more women as should the private sector banks. The crux of the issue is that to make an impact, the proposed all women’s bank must have a nationwide network across the country in both urban areas and villages. How will it create this network and how much time will it take is the question. There are already so many women’s cooperative banks in Maharashtra and elsewhere which are doing a good job. This bank does not fill any gaps and is superfluous.......
Banking Faces Hard Times
The banking sector is one of the key drivers of the economy and the omens for this vital sector are currently not very good. While the Union Budget per se was not very encouraging, the banking sector has a lot of negatives that they have to overcome. And even some measures like the permission of banks to act as insurance brokers will benefit other segments, rather than banks.........
RBI curbs on Rupee Bank may hit staff hard
........While the RBI action has already struck panic among the more than seven lakh depositors of the bank, it has put additional burden on the employees of the bank. "As this was convenient for us, we maintained our account in the bank and had our fixed deposits and other financial instruments in this bank. But now we can't access our hard-earned money in any manner," said a senior employee on condition of anonymity. Another employee stated that the restrictions were imposed very suddenly and they did not have time to make alternative financial arrangements. "Loan re-payments, purchase of houses and functions have been put on hold for many of us," said another employee......
Action on Rupee Co-op Bank leaves small businesses in lurch
......Ganesh Kudale, a restaurant-owner in Pimpri who also has a current account with Rupee Co-operative Bank, said he has been not able to access funds since February 21. While he is confident that the RBI’s action is in depositors’ interest, he complains of the inadequate notice about the RBI action. “…It suddenly took this decision and people’s money is stuck with the bank. If such things happen, people will lose faith in the banking system.”
Freezing of Bank Accounts
.....Banks do not have the power to freeze bank accounts per se. But a bank can act proactively if it finds unusual or suspect transactions in any account. In such cases, the bank has to send a notice to the customer first before freezing the account. However, banks can freeze a savings account if it has been used for commercial purposes as business activity in these accounts is prohibited under RBI rules............
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