Card transactions safety: PIN, biometrics are the way forward

......There are two significant changes taken by the RBI to promote debit card usage. One is the reduction in the merchant discount rates in debit cards capped at 0.75 per cent and one per cent, depending on the transaction size. This reduces the merchants’ cost. The second is to make PIN a must for all debit card transactions. People who were traditionally spending in cash will start using debit cards............

Read - HBL

SBI to act as lead bank for four newly-formed Meghalaya districts

 The Reserve Bank has assigned State Bank of India (SBI) to act as the lead bank in four newly-constructed districts in Meghalaya. The four new districts created in the state are North Garo Hills, East Jaintia Hills, South West Khasi Hills and South West Garo Hills. The RBI also assigned SBI the district working codes for the purpose of basic statistical returns (BSR) reporting.......

Read - TOI

Allowing Islamic banking in J&K upto RBI: Chairman J&K Bank

..Former governor of the RBI, D Subbarao earlier this year after chairing a board meeting here said that RBI cannot allow the Islamic banking as Indian law does not permit it. He said it is for the lawmakers to bring a legislation which can allow interest free banking Islamic banking. However, the financial analysts say that chances for introducing the Islamic banking has increased after the appointment of Raghuram Rajan as new governor of RBI as he is having more positive view towards Islamic banking. A financial institute in southern Indian state of Kerala has been allowed to do banking as per Islamic Sharai few months back...........

Read.......

Don’t doubt RBI desire to fight inflation, reassures Raghuram Rajan

"........Nobody should doubt our desire to fight inflation and our belief that interest rates are our main tool that we have. Nobody should doubt that,........

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

From eatery to meetup, entrepreneurs increasingly accepting 'bitcoins' in India

.....While bitcoin gains in popularity in India, entrepreneurs and investors say they are concerned about the RBI's stance on the digital currency. In August, ET had reported that RBI was "watching and learning" about bitcoins. On Tuesday, the RBI made clear its displeasure with virtual currencies, including bitcoin, saying they pose "significant financial and security risks". In a statement, RBI said bitcoin payments are not authorised by any central bank or monetary authority and that it...........

Read - ET...

RBI issues cautionary advice on virtual currencies

.....In its cautionary advice, the Reserve Bank said it has been looking at the developments relating to certain electronic records claimed to be “Decentralised Digital Currency” or “Virtual Currency” (VCs), such as, Bitcoins, litecoins, bbqcoins, dogecoins etc., their usage or trading in the country and the various media reports in this regard........

Read - HBL

VITALINFO - moment for joy

Dear Mangesh:

This is to convey our very best wishes to your son Harshal and his bride Vishakha for a joyous wedding and a wonderful marriage. Urmila and I wish them happiness and fulfillment as they start their journey together and pray that their union will be blessed with harmony, love, trust and understanding. This must be a fulfilling moment for you and your entire family.  Our congratulations to you on this happy occasion. Enjoy the fun and joy of the wedding celebrations.

- Subba (former Governor)

Dear Mangesh,

That was great news indeed. Much as I would have loved to view the maiden being bowled over by Chi Harshal, time, distance and pressure work deny me the pleasure of being with you all on the happy occasion. Our best wishes to the lovely couple and may they be healthy, prosperous and full of Joy - forever!! Best wishes

- S Ganesh Kumar

Dear Mangesh, I am very happy to hear the news of your son.  I am also very eager to attend the wedding but since my children are landing on the same day, i will not be able to join you on this joyous occasion.  May God bless the couple with all happiness throughout their life ahead. My best wishes to you and your family for the occasion.  My blessings to the couple also. With Warm Regards

- Pushkala Ranganathan

Dear Mr Tarambale,

Hearty congratulations on the eve of your son's wedding. My best wishes for Harshal and Vishaka for a long, peaceful, prosperous and happy wedding life. Best wishes to you and regards, Merry Christmas and very Happy new Year 2014.

- Yerram Raju

Dear Mangesh,

I am very happy to have your high tech invitation for your son's marriage. It is a very happy and wonderful occasion to rejoice and enjoy but  due to some personal inconveniences I am not able to participate physically. I wish the couple a very happy, prosperous and long married life. May God bless the couple always and in all ways for their blissful and long married life. 

– Dr.T.V.Gopalakrishnan

Dear Taramble ji, I am very happy to see that Harshal is getting married. Thanks for the invitation (the concept of e-card, with all minute details,  seems to be very innovative to me, and I like the way it is presented. Congrats to you and Ninad for the concept and execution). Our Blessings to the couple. I will try to attend the reception at Pune.

– Shrimohan Yadav

Dear Tarmbaleji, Hearty greetings!! Many thanks for the invitation. Unfortunately, it would be difficult to make it since I would be elsewhere due to an official work during that time. Our best wishes to Harshal on the happy occasion.Regards, -

- V G Sekar General Manager Jaipur

Thanks Tarambale for the marriage invite. As I will be travelling to Bhopal for a vacation and returning only on the 30th night, I will not be able to grace this auspicious occasion. However, we wish the young couple the very best in their married life. Please convey the same to them.
Wish you also all the best for the successful completion of the function.
Thanks and regards,

- Anand Amin

Dear Mr. Tarambale, Thank you for the marriage invitation of your son Shri Harshal on December 28, 2013..  We would request you to convey our heartiest blessings to the newlywed couple for a long and happy married life.

– Amar Pahujani

Thank you very much for the invitation of the marriage of your son. I could see it only today as I was down with high fever I could not open my computer. It is a great thing to see such an invitation. It is really wonderful. I think so far no body has  made such an invitation for the marriage of their beloved son. Mangesh, You are really great and you continue to be the greatest. I am really sorry for the delay to respond. I am still in bed. Really, we want to make it for the Pune reception. I do not know whether it will be possible and whether I will be recovered by that time. Our best wishes for the couple in advance. May God shower His choicest Blessings on the Couple. We wish Harshal and his bride a long happy, healthy married life and also all wishes for the Tarambale family for the happy wedding. Please let me know when you reach Mumbai.

- Vasudevan Nair

Dear Mangesh,

A wedding in one's family is surely an occasion to rejoice. Our family is bound twice over by RBI link and now by VITAL INFO link. We would have gladly liked to attend the happy event. BUT the spirit is willing but alas the flesh is weak. Although we may not be there physically, we assure you that our heart and soul will be there to bless the bride and groom. May God shower on them long happy married life. Incidentally, do not orphan us by abandoning VITAL INFO.

- B. Kamath CGM retd

Ekdam mast invitation. Great idea. Thanks. I will not be able to attend either of the functions as my friend Rajani Kulkarni's (HRMD) daughter is getting married on 28th followed by reception on 29th. I am really sorry. Pl excuse for the same and convey my best wishes to the couple. Once again thanks for the invitation. Regards

- Vibha Rege 

Thank you so much for the kind invite and heartiest congratulations. I pray to God to shower his choicest blessings on the young couple and make the function a grand success.

- Jayshree

Dear Sri Mangesh, May the choicest blessings be showered on the Couple. We are grateful  for your invitation. Warmest regards

- Jayaram Nayar

Dear Mangesh, I am highly thankful to you for sending me your very kind invitation to attend the auspicious marriage ceremony of your son, Chi Harshal. Though I regret that it will not be possible to attend the ceremony at Pune on 28th December, I shall be mentally present and celebrate the occasion. I wish the would-be bride and bridegroom all the very best in the beginning  of a happy, blissful  and healthy conjugal life and also congratulate you for soon becoming the father-in-law of a lovely bahu, Vishakha, who will fill your household  with all joy and happiness all around. With hearty congratulations. 

- Prabal  Sen

Hi Mangesh,

Congratulations for the marriage of Harshal. My blessing for the newly weds. I know it may be perhaps a bit difficult to manage the Vitalinfo from Mumbai where you will be burdened with more responsibilities in your official capacity but not impossible and I am sure you will continue this venture for the benefit of all your well wishers. 

 – Kuldeep Wadhwa

‘RBI cakes’ a hit every Christmas in Kolkata

.........A co-operative canteen, run by the RBI employees union, buys X-Mas cakes from Howrah in bulk to sell it amongst its employees. “With years the cake became so popular that street vendors also started buying it from the same bakery in Howrah and branded it as “RBI cake,” an RBI canteen staff told PTI. Sushanta Nath, president of the Reserve Bank Employees Association, said the cakes are very popular due to its taste and price...............

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

Obituary

Shri.N.H.Natu passed away on December 22nd  in Vile Parle, Mumbai. He was a little over 80 and suffered from a cerebral haemorrhage. He worked in  RBI  for almost four decades. and  was mostly in the General Side and retired as an  Staff Officer in DBOD, Mumbai. He was an enthusiastic sportsman and excelled in Table-Tennis. Reading books and journals was his hobby and he was a regular visitor to the S.V.Phatak Library in Vile Parle. I met him  in this Library only this Saturday 21st and he asked for the latest position of Updation and  I gave him the customary answer--"No Progress". He leaves behind his wife and two daughters and a large circle of friends in the Bank. May his soul rest in peace. 

- P.P.Ramachandran.

Restructuring a savings scheme

........An earlier attempt to protect savers by offering an instrument that pegged return above wholesale price index (WPI) inflation was not really for ordinary individuals. The new series, though offering inflation-beating returns, might still falter for a variety of reasons. Their complexity — a 10-year tenure, lock-in periods of one year for senior citizens and three years for others, compounding of interest every six months but paid only after the full tenure — might drive away many would-be investors. ........

Read - The Hindu

RBI forms panel to improve data collection, eases investment rules

 The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has formed a committee under Executive Director Deepak Mohanty to review the current system of data collection and the feasibility of data production within the apex bank to reduce the burden on reporting entities.This committee will recommend steps to deliver quality information to data users and reinforce the information system for monetary policymaking, the RBI said on Tuesday.............

Read......

Bank licence: RBI may miss Jan date

..... The Reserve Bank of India may miss the January deadline it has set to issue new bank license, Governor Raghuram Rajan told TV channel ETNow on Monday. “I did say that we will try and do it around time of (Deputy Governor) Mr Anand Sinha’s retirement, but I think it will take a little more time than that. But I am hopeful not much more,” Rajan said............

Read - FPJ

Shinjini Kumar: New bank licences - No more euphoria?

.........Desirable as it may sound on parameters of inclusion and safety, this model is untested as no bank in India has actually operated with the prescribed branch ratio from inception and almost no bank stands to the test of the rural urban ratio as of now. Some applicants may actually be able to come up with game-changing ideas for viable inclusive banking. Others may want to create their niche...........

Read | Business Standard

No plans to change Federal Bank's ownership structure

.........."But since April this year, the rules changed and one has to apply to the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB). When this application was done, there arose some misunderstanding and news surfaced that we are seeking foreign investors. The whole thing was mistaken and there are no plans at all to alter our structure," ................

Read - TOI

Axis Bank moves tribunal to recover debt from Gopinath

Within months of the State Bank of India initiating an aggressive stance to sell a sprawling residential property of G R Gopinath for non-payment of dues, another lender — Axis Bank — is escalating the process to recover close to Rs 265 crore from him. The bank, which has been in various stages of discussions with the Air Deccan founder over his grounded air logistics foray under ...........

Read | Business Standard

HDFC Bank elevates Sukthankar as Dy MD

HDFC Bank, on Tuesday, promoted Paresh Sukthankar as the Deputy Managing Director. The decision was taken by the board of the bank, which met on Tuesday, the lender said in a BSE filing..........

Read - The Hindu

VITALINFO is grateful to you all................................

Dear Tarambale, On reaching home, I just now finished viewing the CD based Invitation for your son's forthcoming Wedding. My advance wishes to Harshal and Vishaka. I am very happy that you have moved along with the times - an e-based invitation, with visuals, of both photos and video, with clarity both of audio and pictures - it is a new and nice experience and thanks for providing such an experience. Could also realise that it is not just you, your entire family, your wife and sons, and I hope your incoming daughter-in-law as well are tech savvy or tech friendly.  My best wishes to you all, to be experimenting with technology.

- R Gandhi, Executive Director

Dear Mangesh Tarambale, Thanks for the invitation sent thru your son. It is very novel.. I felt as if you both have come to our home and personally invited us. Our best wishes to your son and DIL for a happy married life. I am one of your admirers for your immense contribution to the RBI community in creating and developing a well appreciated purposeful VITALINFO. I am sure you will be able to continue (you should continue) your efforts when you become free after your son's wedding ceremony is over. It may be a few days or even weeks, but we will await your coming back. We wish you well on your transfer and also our best wishes to your son and would be daughter-in-law a very happy married life.

- P.Aravind 

Dear Mangesh ji, I am deeply touched by your total commitment to whatever you do, which is obvious from this blog. One would not find many of your ilk, who are apologetic in taking time off for such important personal engagements! And at the same time, you have the onus of relocation and settling in the new environ. I am confident that you will handle both with your characteristic aplomb, and continue the vitalinfo more effectively, and make it eternalinfo!  You have distinguished yourself by drawing encomiums from very highly placed people like the Hon’ble Governor himself as also from most common readers from the RBI fraternity and erstwhile RBI fraternity like me, at once.  And here is wishing you all the very best for the wonderful occasion on 28th December 2013 as also a very happy, prosperous and successful New Year 2014!! Do also let us know which department you are getting posted to.

- K R Nair, NABARD Regional Office, Andhra Pradesh, Hyderabad

It has been a tremendous exercise and efforts put by you since last 3 years to help others. We hope Almighty will give you all strength and support to continue the VITALINFO. Congrats for good news of your son's marriage. All the Best. Waiting for a vital news of taking a fresh guard and start a new inning soon. Thanks for what you have done.

- S R Kane, PS to ED

Dear Shri Tarambale Sb. I am indeed happy to learn that your son Harshal  is getting married soon. I wish Harshal  all the best in his married life. Best wishes to the would be in-laws too ( father and mother in-law). Incidentally how is Ninad?. I am sure you would be occupying space in the 18th floor on your transfer Mumbai, I wish u all the success. You should be congratulated for conceptualizing the  VITALINFO. It has brought all the RBItes and other bankers together  with its updates. When we do not see  the VITALINFO of any  day,  we feel as if some important activity of the day has been missed. Pl do not leave the great concept half-way (Adhura na Chodo), I wish the  VITALINFO a long and memorable life.

- K R Padmanabha Rao, General Manager (Retd.)

The popularity of VITALINFO is catching up fast and it is my sincere advise to you to ensure its continued circulation even if with a pause for a few days because of your transfer and eventual interruptions. As I said earlier, Vital Info will become a gold mine of information for history writers on money, finance and banking at a later date. Even for that matter RBI itself would depend on this vital blog for writing its' history as and when taken up in a few year's time. –

– Dr.T.V.Gopalakrishnan

Dear Mangesh, I read your message today of your impending holidays and transfer to Mumbai.

Regarding your sons marriage - I heartily wush your son and his bride a happy married life all the best health wealth and prosparity and career progression also Please convey my best to the married couple.

2  Regarding your transfer - Yes transfers are inevitable in ones career Along with transfers it brings lot of irritants Getting a flat in Mumbai is tough and then getting settled is also equally difficult and then settling down in your new desk and knowing the new Boss his temperament etc These are all the things which are very tough and sometime and your patience etc I wish you all the best in this endeavour.
3  Now about VITALINFO. You have brought this up during the last three years with great care like your own small child Now with all the difficulties i have mentioned in para 2 above it is very difficult to bring the Vitalinfo with such regularity which it is known for. I know Mumbai its a tough place and to publish Vitalinfo it requires huge patience and mental peace which it is very difficult to find in the short run.However I wish you all the best to get settled down in Mumbai early and try your best to publish the Vitalinfo as hitherto.

4  I heartily wish you all the best and very happy new year and career progression also besides health wealth and all prosperity.

- N D Laxmikantha

Dear Taramble ji,

I am delighted to note that your son is getting married on 28th. As you know, I am in USA these days. I would have definitely accepted the invite and come to Pune if I was in Mumbai. Let me take this opportunity to wish the young couple and your entire family all the very best in life. I also note that you are getting posted to Mumbai and will be joining your duties early next month. I request you to continue your work on the vitalinfo with the same zeal Nd take the blog to new heights of glory.

- B K katyal, Ex Chief General Manager

Dear Mangesh, A great service to all Bank employees (getting all that are happening in Banking world in a comprehend form), VITALINFO, a brain child of Yours has come a long way & may become a precedent in the years to come...My personal greetings to You for all the trouble You are taking and best wishes for your untiring efforts.

- Balasubramanian K

Mangesh ji, So kind of you for the invitation. Our best wishes as I cannot make it. When the phone notifies mail in the morning it is always your Vital Info! and my wife says your cyber friend Mangesh ji!! Regards

- P V S Suryakumar

Dear Mangesh ji, It is so nice of you to invite me to the sacred marriage function of your son Harshal. Though it may not be possible for me to attend, our blessings do reach out to him. May he and his wife have a blissful life together which would always bring serene comfort and satisfaction to you and your wife. Warm regards and best wishes for the ceremony,

- Prakash Bakshi, Former Chairman, NABARD

Dear Mr. Tarambale, Our heartiest congratulations on the occasion of your dear son's wedding. I am afraid it will not be possible for us to attend the event, but please do convey our blessings and best wishes to the newly weds for a Very Happy and Prosperous Married Life. We also wish you and your family a delightful New Year. Warm regards,

-  V S Das, Former Executive Director

Thank you very much for your colourful innovative Invitation. Do accept our greetings. Wish the couple a happy, prosperous, wedded life.

- P.P.Ramachandran

Dear Mangesh - Thank you very much for the kind invitation to your son's wedding.  I wish the function success. Please convey to the couple my blessings and best wishes for a long and happy married life.

I am sorry I am not able to attend the wedding or the reception. With best regards, Sincerely

- A.Seshan

Dear Mangesh, Congratulations!!!!!!!  warm and best wishes for your son (HARSHAL)’s marriage at Nagpur on 28^th December 2013. I will try to come to Pune for Reception on 29^th Dec. 2013. Once again congrats to you and your family a happy marriage and Season’s Greetings!!!!! With warm regards, 

- P G Gehani & Family

Dear Mangesh, Hearty congratulations on the marriage of your son Harshal. I extend the warmest of best wishes to the couple for a very happy and prosperous life in every way. As regards your taking time off for the marriage from VITALINFO, much as we are going to feel bereft, none will grudge you the time you take off for your family occasion. We are indebted as you have given us your time and effort so ungrudgingly and generously for our edification. Thank you and I am sure you will find a way to make it only a small pause!

- Kamala Rajan

Best wishes to the young couple and the family. It was thoughtful of you to remember us.

warm regards,

 - Dr.S.S.Tarapore, Former Deputy Governor

Dear Mangesh, Thanks a million for the invite for your son's wedding reception on 29th in Pune. Much that both of us would have loved partaking, we are unable to do so as we will be out of town. All the same we wish Harshal and his wife all the best in their married life and we pray it be healthy, happy and prosperous as ever with plenty of troubles but always little ones. Please convey our good wishes to the young couple and oblige.

- Shobha & Kishore Savkur.

This is the first time I saw an invitation -a Video  invitation . My wife also saw. Fine. God bless.

 – R.G.Nakhate

  

No one or no Editor shall disregard his or her duties towards his or her family. Shri Mangesh Tarambale, I hope, would not say," good bye" to VITALINFO. Shri Tarambale has handled, nourished VITALINFO single handed for the last three years. Indeed an Herculean task. Shri Tarambale is 55 / 56 years of age and therefore, I and a few others in my friend circle, want him ' proclaim' his wish,' If I had my life to live again....I would Re-serve VITALINFO' not right from this young age, he would 'proclaim' his wish fifteen years after his retirement at sixty, when he turns 75. Please do not 'Quit'. A thousand get all important information related to and happenings in and around RBI intelligently culled out from many sources from India and outside India. Shri Tarambale has also extended, thrown open a wide canvas, a platform to all retired and serving employees of RBI to express his or her views on subjects of interest to all. It may be or may it be a L o n g  pause but no, not a beginning, say it, quit. An humble suggestion or request to give a try: Shri Tarambale may select, pick up a few of his colleagues who would like to share/ shoulder his burden sincerely, efficiently to bring out the daily (excluding Sundays and holidays) Edition of VITALINFO uninterruptedly.

- R.G.Nakhate

Many many thanks for your kind invitation .Let us hasten to wish Chi.Harshal and his would be wife a long, happy, prosperous and healthy married life. We also wish and pray that God almighty showers everything best in life in abundance to all the members of your family. Our greetings and best wishes also also on the eve of the New Year.

- C.S.R.Nair and family

Dear Mangesh, Thank you for inviting us on the happy occasion of your son's wedding. Indeed, true to your style, the Invitation Card is so nicely worded. You have also leveraged technology by sending us online engagement photos, map  etc. Our hearty Congratulations and best wishes to Ninad for a happy wedding.

- K C Shashidhar, CGM, NABARD, Mumbai

 Dear Mangesh Tarambale, My name is G.Sridhar, seen you  in E.C.D during the year 1974 - 1980,didn't know you at a closer circle,had mentioned about your current activities to some of my old colleagues.Thanks for extending the marriage invitation of your son. Please convey our good wishes to the young couple. With regards to all at home

- G.Sridhar

Dear Mangesh Tarambale, Many thanks for extending the marriage invitation of your son. Please convey our best wishes to the young couple. As we have come to Thiruvananthapuram last month, we may not be able to make it to Nagpur or Pune now. Our blessings and best wishes are with the young couple. With warm regards

- M G Warrier 

  

Dear Mangesh Rao, Thanks for the invite. We are right now abroad and regretfully can not make it to the marriage or reception. Please be good enough to accept our best wishes to the young couple for a very happy married life. To you and your wife, our congratulations. With regards, 

- Vasudevan

My dear Mangesh,

My heartiest congratulations on successful completion of three years of your writing the Blog VITALINFO. You have been devoting time and energy with a lot of dedication as a Mission. We have been getting first-hand news more faster than the Print/other Electronic Media only through VITALINFO. I hope you will continue to write the Blog VITALINFO with the same zeal and interest even after your posting to a department in Mumbai. I am sure there wont be a long pause but you will return to the Mission soon after you are relieved of your commitments. I would also like to convey my heartiest congratulations to you, as your beloved son is getting married. This is a very beautiful moment in your personal life. Convey my best wishes and blessings to Harshal and Vishakha on their marriage. I wish the young marrying couple a very happy life ahead and pray that God's choicest blessing be showered on them. I am thankful to you for your warm E-invitation with your personal "Mangesh" touch. Such a brilliant idea of sending the invite in a very different way,  could only be conceptulised by a person of your calibre. Hats off to you, Mangesh. Great work. Wedding - cum - Reception card is beautifully drafted and crafted by you in participation with Ninad. With warm regards

- R K Gujar

Dear Mangesh, Thank you very much for the invitation for the wedding of your son. The notice is rather short and I have prior commitments in Chennai. Otherwise, I would have been present for the happy occasion as you know I have a number of friends in Pune and love visiting Pune. Please convey my best wishes to your son and daughter in law for a long,happy and prosperous married life.Regards,

- A.Chandramouliswaran, Former Executive Director

Dear Mangesh, Many thanks for your kind invitation to attend the reception in Pune  on the 29 Dec. on the occasion of Harshal’s wedding. Much as I would have liked to attend the function and participate in the family’s joy, I have to deny myself the opportunity to do so because of some other family engagement on that day. Kindly therefore excuse me and permit me to convey through this mail my wife’s and my Best Wishes to the bride and the groom for A Long, Happy and Fruitful Married life. The news of your being  relieved this monthend on transfer to Mumbai  was  unwelcome or rather saddening. Many of R B I Colleagues will be concerned about the future of VITALINFO. Who is going to replace you? Over the years, we had established good rapport and personal relations. I shall certainly miss you. BTW, your e-invitation was great; I have seen such a live invitation for the first time. Love and Best Wishes

-P B Kulkarni, Former Executive Director

Dear Mangesh, Thank you for the invite it is quite a novel one. Best wishes

- Sandip Ghose

Dear Mangesh Tarambale, Many thanks for your invite. I wish we could attend the function. Nevertheless, please accept our best wishes and convey our blessings to the couple. Regards

- R.K.Sharma

Wishing the event a grand success and your family to multiply with divine grace. Visit me in Chennai.

– P S S Narayanan, Chennai

Dear Mangesh, Thanks for the wonderful invitation! My heartfelt congratulations to Harshal and Vishaka!  I wish the newly married couple all success and prosperity in every step of their virtuous life! Regards,

- Janaki Ravindran

Respected Mangesh Sir, Thanks for the invitation for your son’s wedding. May God give the young couple the best of the earth and lead with most happiest moments throughtout their long life.

- S. I. QUADRI, AM, RBI, BANGALORE 

Dear Mangesh, Thank you for the wedding invitation in connection with the proposed  Wedding of your son, Chi. Harshal with Sow. Vishaka. I extend warm wishes to the bride and the groom on the occasion and please convey to them my hearty congratulations. I pray to the Almighty to shower His Blessings on the young couple as they embark on the journey of marital bliss. Profound Regards,

- S. Srinivasan, Cochin

Dear Sir, Thank you very much for your kind invitation of the marriage of your son. We pray unto Almighty to shower his divine blessings for their wonderful married life. With regards

- R. Raghavan

Thanks for the kind invitation to attend the marriage ceremony of your son Chiranjeevi  Harshal on the 28th December 2013. I request you to convey to your son my best wishes for Happy  Married Life  full of contentmnet and happiness. My sincere blessings to the young couple.

- L.V.subramaniam, Former General Secretary

All india Confederation of Bank Officers Organisations (AICOBOO)

Editor Labour Herald (daily on the internet)

Banks: ‘ SCRIPTing’ the way forward - DR. N. A. MUJUMDAR

.....The promotion of financial inclusion involves much more than merely providing access to banks. It has many dimensions. These have been admirably explained in a recent lecture by the RBI’s Deepali Pant, on ‘ Financial Inclusion: Journey So Far and Road Ahead” ( November 2013). These include Financial Literacy and Financial Education, Robust Institutional Mechanism, and use of Technology. Banks have adopted a structured and planned approach to financial inclusion, through the preparation of Financial Inclusion Plans ( FIPs). The first plan, covering 2010- 2013, has shown remarkable progress. Banking outlets increased to 2,68,000 by March 2013. Of these, nearly 2,21,000 are Business Correspondents............

Read - FPJ

‘Bankers should focus on human resources’

.....“The present day banker has to comprehend and cope with the growing customer base, changing profile and expectations, lest they (customers) move to some other bank. Redesigning branches and transforming the bank will not suffice. “The culture should also change with customer expectations,”...........

Read - HBL

Race hots up

With Anand Sinha’s extended tenure as Deputy Governor set to end next month, the competition is hotting up for the post. While RBI Executive Directors G. Gopalakrishna, B. Mahapatra, G. Padmanabhan, R. Gandhi and P. Vijaya Bhaskar are the internal candidates in the race, it is understood that some bureaucrats are also vying for the position. Traditionally, out of the four deputy governors, two have been from the RBI while the other two are outsiders — with commercial banking and economics background. IAS officers who became Deputy Governor include D. R. Mehta and Y. V. Reddy.

Hindu