Gold mine of info - thy name is VITALINFO

Shri Mangesh Tarambale takes the pain of consolidating all articles and write ups on banking and finance very meticulously in bringing out VITALINFO and forwards to retirees of RBI and those in service also. This is a gold mine of information and worthy of preserving. Even RBI or for that matter any institution will not have this sort of compendium on information on money banking and Finance. He will be the source of information for the next history as and when it is written.

– Dr.T.V.Gopalakrishnan  

My dear Mangesh,

I feel indeed very happy to read unhesitating appreciation of  your VITALINFO blog, if I may call it so, social service to RBI fraternity. Certainly you deserve it much more than what words can express.

Love and best wishes

- P B Kulkarni, Former Executive Director

Dear Mangesh,

Kindly include the following names in your mailing list for VITALINFO. In fact Mrs. Usha Thorat told me to send all names to you for VITALINFO.

Mr. Hemal B. Khandwala, Research Associate, CAFRAL

Mr. Vikas Kumar, Research Associate, CAFRAL

Mr. Srujan Routhu, Research Associate, CAFRAL

Mr. Sabri Oncu, Head of Research, CAFRAL

Mangesh You are really great. Please continue to do this great job which helps many in the Bank as also outside. We will meet you when we come to Pune.

Warm Regards,

- Vasudevan Nair, CAFRAL

My salutations to incredible element in you in bringing out VITALINFO. 
-Gyaneshwar Pathak, AGM, RBI, Patna

Slow Aadhaar registration hinders direct benefit transfers

.....This came to light at a state-level review meeting of a bank recently. Reserve Bank of India Regional Director Sudarshan Sen also pointed to a "significant lack of financial literacy" not only among the general public but also among a number of business correspondents (BCs) hired by banks to cover unbanked rural areas..............

Read - IE

35 पैसे में बन जाती है फेक करेंसी

.....भारतीय रिजर्व बैंक से अनुपम चौधरी और जेके चौधरी संडे को पुलिस लाइंस में सब इंस्पेक्टर्स को फेक करेंसी और ओरिजिनल करेंसी को पहचानने की ट्रेनिंग दी. साथ ही उन्हें यह भी बताया कि कैसे इसे आसानी से बिना किसी फोरेंसिक लैब की मदद से हम ट्रेस कर सकते हैं. कोई ब्लाइंड पर्सन भी बड़ी आसानी से इंडियन करेंसी को हाथों से टच कर इसे पहचान सकता है..............

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SIT-ON-DEMONSTRATION of Bank Employees

.....All other organizations have also submitted their Charter of Demand before the IBA through the UFBU. Meanwhile, though 9 months have passed, no significant progress regarding the bipartite negotiation has yet been witnessed resulting in the bank employees are very much frustrated. Moreover, the counter demands of bank management (Banks’ Charter of Demand) has become a matter of great concern to them.......................

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If wishes were horses......

My View on  "Need Money? Don’t Go to the Bank": 

Mobile platforms for payments and settlement solutions in a less literate society as India, are high risk terrains. Cyber crimes involving mobile and credit card payments have scaled up to new highs in all the countries where they are in use. Secondly, we have vey lax legal administration that takes its sweet time to book the culprits and punish them. In a country with just around 3% of net-savvy customers, to expect to migrate to mobile tracks would be a fond hope for the customer and regulatory challenge for the RBI. If wishes were horses......would be the riders. 

- Yerram Raju

One-horse race?

......Several candidates are said to be in the fray, but one officer who has recently joined the regulator on deputation is said to be the front runner. Some old Sebi hands who had also applied are miffed. But the front runner is said to be close to powers-that-be.....

Read | Business Standard

Nepal Rastra Bank urges banks not to gamble with US dollar

........An NRB official said they have taken measures to study whether the NDF has been beneficial during current inconsistencies in the exchange rate. As the dollar’s exchange rate is fixed against IC for hedging, the NRB has been sensitive. The RBI has banned banks from engaging in NDF contracts in India. However, bankers said as the money is not delivered and the settlement is also made in US dollars, banning the NDF contract is not logical...........

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Professor Rajan’s solutions

.........In these difficult economic circumstances, Rajan taking over as governor of RBI is a big positive for the Indian markets. However, very soon, the ball will again be in the government’s court. Monetary policy will face the same dilemmas as it did until a few weeks ago. Further, the decisions on the financial sector reforms will have to be backed by government action. I am still not sure if New Delhi is ready to match the pace of change with Mumbai.

Read - Mint

Rajinikanth Rajan saves the rupee

When Rajinikanth Rajan alighted from his SUV on Mint Road, the first thing he saw was the sagging Reserve Bank of India (RBI) building. As the rupee slumped, the building too had wilted. It now drooped wearily, wearing a defeated look. Rajan walked briskly past the officials lined up to greet him and leaned against the building, whistling a tune from Sivaji: The Boss, his hands in the pockets of his immaculately tailored trousers. And as he pushed gently, the walls straightened and the building stood erect and tall once again. Rajinikanth brushed the dust from his jacket and entered the central bank. On the eighteenth floor, he found Subbarao sitting in a corner, sobbing. “Only God,” he muttered as Rajan came in, “can save the rupee.” “Then I will order him to do so,” said Rajinikanth, picking up the phone...........

Read - Mint

The Rupee will Strengthen

.......A currency will likely depreciate merely because most people agree it should, potentially triggering a vicious downward spiral. Unlike a physical commodity, a currency only has value because everyone believes it does. It is important to view the rupee’s recent moves from this prism rather than to try to justify it with technical sounding phrases, such as “unsustainable Current Account Deficit (CAD)”, “high inflation differentials”, “falling growth differentials” and so on..........

Read - ET 

Do Your Bosses Also Believe In What You Say and Will They Allow You to Do What You Profess ?

..........My experience indicates that in case your bosses do not profess in what you believe in, soon either you have to fall in line with them or you will be in the line of continuous firing. Therefore, bosses of Dr RR are likely to resist any attempt by him to dethrone the willful defaulters. We will closely watch how our new Doctor controls the high pressures from political class and steers the economy out of woods. Therefore,  Doctor Saheb, be aware of your Bosses  and we wish you a Good Luck...............

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Safe landing

........ Mr Rajan’s appointment is welcome, but there is an enormous distance between the recommendations of the Rajan committee and the declared intentions of the same Mr Rajan.

Read - The Telegraph

RBI query on gold stock in temples evokes Hindu outfits` ire

............While confirming that they have received such a letter from the RBI, top officials of some of the major temples said they were not taking any hasty decision on the matter without consulting the government and authorities concerned. When contacted in Mumbai, the RBI spokesperson Alpana Killawala admitted that they have written to these temples but clarified that "the objective of the letter is to collect data and mentioned that in the RBI statement issued on September 1, there is no proposal under its consideration (to buy gold and bullion from temples)."......

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Banks can only sell standard insurance products through branch

......The move is aimed at ensuring that lenders do not sell customised insurance products where risk assessment is more complex. It will also address various concerns of the Reserve Bank, including those pertaining to conflict of interest. RBI does not want banks to undertake new risk in the form of insurance broker...........

Read - ET

Defaulters, not criminals

.....There are obviously lessons to be learnt, and hopefully the committee RBI Governor Rajan has set up will have some guidelines. It is equally true the mammoth delay in government clearances has turned a large number of assets into NPAs—how do you service a power sector loan if the plant has no coal? None of this, needless to say, precludes the chances of genuine fraud. ...........

Read - FE

Banks Expect No Quick Fix for NPA Pain Despite Reserve Bank Warning

.........“Although RBI governor’s statement on NPA has sent a strong signal to defaulting borrowers, banks are facing difficulties at the field level in implementing SARFAESI Act and taking physical possession of mortgaged properties due to administrative gaps. This needs to be addressed first, otherwise bad borrowers will continue to use the loopholes and make mockery of the system,”.............

Read - ET

Your EMIs may not come down anytime soon

Four sets of data over the next few days — industrial output growth for July, monthly retail and wholesale inflation for August and corporate advance tax numbers — would largely determine the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) next move on interest rate hikes, but analysts do not expect the new central bank governor Raghuram Rajan to cut lending rates soon. So, don’t expect EMIs on your existing home loans to come down in a hurry.............

Read - HT

National Pension Scheme funds hit by downturn

.........Most NPS investors, including the 30 lakh central and state government employees, who are compulsorily a part of the scheme, are SIP investors and their returns should be calculated accordingly. We looked at the SIP returns of NPS funds in the past year and found that most of them were in the red............

Read - ET

Can you trust your bank to run your ECS on time?

.....The truth is that more often that not, banks do get the ECS part correct. But, banks could make mistake like this, after all it did happen to the customer mentioned above as per RBI data. So, what can you do, to ensure that your ECS runs on time and your bank does not goof-up? ................

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Woman seeking alimony, hubby's bank fined for data theft

...........Considering the facts of the case, Agarwal in his order cited Section 43A of the IT Act and the guidelines of Reserve Bank of India which require banks to maintain the confidentiality and privacy of customers. The order states that the bank has failed to protect the private and sensitive data of the customers and also failed to provide any information about the city or the branch from which the statement was generated. The IT secretary further goes on to say that the bank has admitted that it has no mechanism to check the system logs and audit trails of internal bank staff using the system.

Read - DNA