Tuesday, December 31, 2013

Intractable, vulnerable and contestable - Dr.Subir Gokarn

......However, even as this picture is relatively reassuring, we should not forget what brought us to the edge of the current account deficit abyss. In a nutshell, we stopped exporting iron ore and we started importing non-coking coal. Over a two-year period, these developments imparted an adverse shock of about $13 billion to the current account - more, if some indirect effects are..........

Inimitable VITALINFO with historical perspective - S.n.Bagai / Yerram Raju

My dear Mangeshji, Hamari Mangal Kaamnayen sweekar keejiye.Nav Dampati evam aap sab pur Prabhu Kripa bani rahe. I also hope that your inimitable VITALINFO series would restart at the soonest. With very best regards,
- S.n.Bagai

The amazing network of VITALINFO going single handed by Mr Mangesh Taramble needs support from institutions like the RBI - a substantial grant with no strings as the site provides a historical perspective which at a future date the RBI would like to access, has to pay lakhs. One way is to provide grant with the proviso that the RBI would have free access to the archives of VITALINFO.
– Yerram Raju 

Dear Mangesh, I am really pleased to see your popularity and happy to see the personal touch in so many responses to your invite. It is a true reflection of the fact that sincerity and hard work alone brings in the richly deserved accolades and complements. I am sure you are sucked in the vortex of the recognition for good work and I am sure you have no choice now but to continue to take VITAL INFO to greater heights of glory. My belief is that this work of yours will become a movement and many of the RBITES will lend their time and resources and would love to work with you. Pl let me know how I could be of any use. Regards and best wishes again for the happy occasion of the marriage of your son on 28th.
- B K Katyal

Dear Mangesh, Please accept our heartiest congratulations on the auspicious occasion of marriage of Chi Harshal. We will try to join the celebrations. Our blessings to the couple and best wishes to the family.
- Kiran Sharma and DP Sharmas

Dear Tarambaleji, I wanted to be the first one to wish the newly-weds just as I was the first to receive the novel invitation card. But let me not be the last one. Here is wishing the young couple the very best in their lives of togetherness which they have just embarked upon.  Regards
– Alpana Killawala

Dear Shri Tarambale Saheb, Kindly include my name also in your ‘mailing list’ Rgds
- A Krishna Gopal Joint Legal Adviser Legal Department

Thank you very much for the warm invite for the marriage celebration of ur son Harshal. I extend my best wishes to the newly married couple for a happy and cheerful married life for years to come.
- M.O. Sebastian, GM(Retd),RBI,Kochi

Dear Mangesh, Thanks a lot for your hearty invitiation. I am unable to be with u due to logistical probs only. entally we are with you. Congrats to Harshal andBest Wishes from RBI Retired community Kochi. Regs 
– P.N.Nandakumar

Dear Mangesh, Our congratulations on this happy occasion. Please  convey our very best wishes to your son Harshal and his bride Vishakha for a  wonderful marriage. 
- Jnanendra, GM ( Rtd.) NABARD

Dear Mangesh, Thank you for the beautiful Wedding Invitation. I’m wishing you in advance a day of glory (28th December 2013), opening with firework for the ceremony, with best friends and all quests around, And the sun in the sky as the crown, with soft wind of sweet music in the air, Clouds resembling the words "Congrats, my dear friend Mangesh to you and your family", And with the tiny brightening stars, Twinkling to bring a smile in all of your hearts. Heartfelt wishes on the marriage of your Son Harshal and his bride Vishaka!  Congratulations to a beautiful bride and a groom. All the best to you and your family at this special time and always! With best personal regards. 
 - Pauline DSouza and family 


तारे चमक रहे हैं,  चंदा खिला  हुआ है
धरती के दो सितारों का अब मिलन हुआ है

हरशल की है शादी, सेहरा चमक रहा है
आँखों में नूर सा है,  चहरा दमक रहा है

हरशल बहुत है प्यारा, मम्मा का है दुलारा
पापा हैं मुस्कुराते,  नाचे है अब जियारा

विशाखा बनी है दुल्हन, प्यारी सी लग रही है
हरशल के साथ जोड़ी ये अच्छी सज रही है

हम सब की यह दुआ है, हर वक़्त प्यार में हो
खुशियां हों ज़िन्दगी भर, जीवन बहार में हो
 . यू. शेख़ ( सेवानिवृत्त ) भारतीय रिज़र्व बैंक, मुम्बई

Dear Shri Mangesh ji, Hearty congratulations !!! Many thanks for inviting us to the marriage ceremony of your son Chi Harshal. I and my wife Sairani wish the marriage function a grand success and wish the young couple a very happy and long married life. Regards

- JRP Ratnarao, Ex  CGM Mumbai

RBI sees Lok Sabha elections as ‘potential source of uncertainty’

......Warning that any political instability will lead to further erosion of investor confidence in the economy, the RBI governor said, “With confidence in the financial system still fragile, six years into the crisis, policy certainty is something that investors look for in the current environment.” The warning from RBI comes as some political observers are expecting a hung Parliament after the Lok Sabha elections.............

Risk from bad loans rising, warns RBI

.......Compared to the earlier FSR released in August by former RBI Governor D Subbarao, the current version is substantially positive on the external front. In August, Subbarao had said that the key challenge then was to finance the high current account deficit (4.9% in Q1FY14) in a non-disruptive manner and contain its size within sustainable levels. This time, however, RBI has said that there have been...........

Pension system not adequately equipped

..........The share of elderly in the population has increased from 5.6 per cent in 1961 to 7.4 per cent in 2001 and is projected to rise to 12.4 per cent by 2026. The absolute numbers will double from 7.7 crore in 2001 to 14.3 crore by 2021. “With rising life expectancy and declining fertility, the demographic window of opportunity will close soon and the small cohort of children born during this time will find themselves supporting a large cohort of elderly parents,” the RBI said...............

Obituary

Capt Ashok Bhandari, retired DGM, RPCD Central Office expired after an heart ailment at Bombay Hospital on December 20, 2013. Shri Bhandari was residing in Mumbai Central Quarters before shifting to Mahavir Building, behind Big Bazar, Worli. A strict disciplinarian was good at heart. I had the previlage of working under him for a couple of years before his retirement in 2008.Kindly convey the sad news to our other members. 
R. Kumaresan

Financial inclusion gains momentum, says CRISIL

.........There are 21 states in the “high” and “above average” categories now compared to 15 earlier, CRISIL said. Also, only one state is currently in the “low” category against three in 2011. The southern region of the country remained the leader in financial inclusion with 58 per cent of the incremental credit accounts in 2012 getting opened there.........

Read | Business Standard

Stagflation’s year

To get a sense of how tough the year has been for the economy, consider the options RBI and finance ministry had. Normally, monetary and fiscal policies would have been loosened to counter a downturn. What did they actually do?

Insurance mis-selling our problem, too: RBI

.......RBI said the increasing number of complaints could affect the public’s confidence in insurance products, intermediaries and insurance companies. "More important, it seriously affects the demand for insurance, which could have serious implications on insurance as an avenue of tapping savings for long-term investments for the economy,"........

Being mindful of savers’ interests

........Even so, the holding back of strong monetary policy action by the RBI is a serious error of judgement, which the present government will rue in the next few months. Generalised inflation is a monetary phenomenon and has to be tackled by a strong monetary policy, even though it may be a blunt instrument. Not dousing the inflationary fire could risk a major conflagration.
In recent days Governor Rajan has used all his......

RBI to review single, group exposure limit norms for banking stability

....The current exposure norms in India are in the higher side when compared to global norms. A Basel committee in March 2013 had proposed that threshold defining large exposure should be set at five per cent of banks eligible capital. The large exposure limit may be fixed at 25 per cent of common equity tier I (as against the currently used total capital). ..........

Cautious report card

......The RBI is spot on when it says that national balance sheets, including that of India’s, need to be strengthened to combat the effects of stimulus withdrawal programmes of advanced economies. The global financial system is now accustomed to high liquidity, and the upcoming squeeze as the U.S. tapers its bond-buying programme could prove disruptive. The problem for India will be magnified given the growth slowdown and ..........

Bitcoin now morphs into 67 new e-currencies

............A number of bitcoin operators in India have begun suspending their business following RBI’s warning against use of such virtual currencies due to potential money laundering and cyber security risks. Within four years of coming into existence, bitcoin has become the world’s most expensive currency and its per unit value soared past $1,200 level or about Rs 63,000 recently, although the prices have now slipped below Rs 50,000 level...........

The Reserve Bank of India Has No Plans to Regulate Bitcoin

........Chakrabarty stressed that the RBI does not regulate nor support digital currencies. He was keen to point out that bitcoin regulation has not been enacted anywhere else in the world, and that people who understand the risks are free to do whatever they like with their money. “Whether it is … legal or illegal, we don’t know,” he said bluntly. “If it crosses the limit of legality then people may face a problem. So people should be cautious.” Chakrabarty’s statements are unusually candid, and illustrate a wider problem for financial authorities. Regulators simply cannot deal with digital currencies .........

Mobile banking not really buzzing

.......“The growth and acceptance of mobile banking as a channel of accessing banking service have been below expectation,” says the report released on Monday. So far, 78 banks, including a few regional rural banks and urban cooperative banks, have been given permission to provide mobile banking services in the country..........

NPA menace: Banks must take haircut, says KV Kamath

.......The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has raised the red flag over the rise in bad loans once again in its Financial Stability Report. The central bank says that NPAs will rise from 9 percent to 10 percent of banks' total assets in a year . Speaking exclusively to CNBC-TV18 veteran banker and Non-Executive Chairman of  ICICI Bank KV Kamath said banks will have to take a haircut to resolve the issue of infra loans and assets.........

Read.........

Jump in large-value frauds

......The RBI said online frauds, lottery SMS alerts, advertisements inducing customers to share the details of bank accounts, cloning of cards etc., pose a real challenge for the banks and customers alike in matters of safety and security. Banks need to evolve........

Work for the welfare of weaker sections, Rosaiah tells bankers

....Addressing the officials and executives of Karur Vysya Bank Mr. Rosaiah asked the bank staff to dedicate themselves to the uplift of weaker sections and growth of rural populace. Commending the KVB for its achievement on priority sector advances and agricultural credit targets stipulated by the Reserve Bank of India, Mr. Rosaiah lauded the efforts of the bank for its active involvement in the financial inclusion programme of the RBI by covering 117 villages through business correspondents.............