PPF Account Extension: Can You Continue PPF Account Without Further Deposits?

A PPF (Public Provident Fund) account can be continued after maturity, with or without making further contributions. Financial planners say that a PPF account holder should extend the account if there is no immediate requirement of funds. Despite the lowering of interest rates in recent times, PPF or Public Provident Fund is considered one of the best investment optionsfor accumulating savings for the long term. PPF account comes with a maturity period of 15 years. (Also read: How to open PPF account in SBI | ICICI Bank)

Currently, the interest rate on small savings schemes such as PPF is revised on a quarterly basis. With effect from April 1, 2018, PPF account fetches an interest rate of 7.6 per cent per annum.

A PPF subscriber whose account is about to mature can choose to close the account and withdraw the entire proceeds.

The other option would be to opt for extension of the PPF account, which can be extended for one or more blocks of five years each, on application by the subscriber.

 

PPF Account Extension

You can extend your Public Provident Fund (PPF) account on maturity by a block period of five years. You have two options: with or without further contributions. So the account holder can retain the account after maturity for any period even without making any further deposits. A PPF deposit continues to earn interest till the account is closed.

Partial withdrawals are possible from PPF accounts during the extended period.

 You Must Deposit Money In PPF Accounts Before Or On 5th Of Every Month)

If a PPF account holder opts for the with-contribution mode during the extended period, he or she can withdraw up to 60 per cent of the amount held in the account at the beginning of the extended period. But only one withdrawal is permitted per year. The balance continues to earn interest.

On the other hand, if the PPF account holder chooses the without-contribution mode, any amount can withdrawn. But only one withdrawal is allowed per year.

No. of Branches in India , No.of Branches in (Foreign) and Total No of ATMs of PSU bank as on 31.12.2017

Next round Bipartite Talk between IBA and Union will be Held on 5th May 2018

Banker's DA from May 2018 to July 2018 Increase only 2 slab i.e .20 %

As we have predicted the D.A. for Bank employees from May'18 to July'18 will be marginally hiked if the Index number remains unchanged from it's February level.
In this situation the increase in DA Slabs would come to 2 slabs.( revised DA slabs would be 529 i.e. 52.90% ) for the next three months.

Acid attack on Branch Manager by a customer at the Branch premisses at office hours

Acid attack today on Union Bank of India branch head Mr Tarun Jain by a customer in the branch premises
Reason- His mudra loan was rejected by the branch head
Branch-Bhilwara , GandhiNagar
Attacker arrested
Please spread this news as much as you can so that it can get media coverage.... Otherwise the attacker will be freed later or sooner

From Management level till now no step taken.

Union also till now silent .

Shameful...Act or amendments need for bankers safety... Kind Attention Union leaders.

This is happen only for wrong policy of government

,

Digitization summery of all Banks till 31 March 2018

Digitization summery of all Banks till 31 March 2018

All data of digitisation of all banks in india with their rankings till 31 March 2018. Hdfc bank one of the leading private sector bank hold 1st position. We are uploading all bank ranking . You can check it

Entire workforce of the country is depressed due to effective date of gratuity

Gratuity is a industry level issue for bank employees and for all workers in India other than central govt employees and unorganised sector employees.
Entire workforce of the country is depressed due to effective date.
Now I come to bank officers,
Please under stand Leaders are human beings. They are not terrorist who can hold govt at gun point.
The demands are raised in peaceful manners. 
The leadership met the central ministers,buerocrates and law makers which is a matter of record and demand was made very effectively.
What we are doing since yesterday.
My respected retirees friends, by abusing the leadership, we show about our sanskaraa.
Abuse starts when argument ends
U people are demeaning ur self by using unparliamentry language.
Those who abuse are not fit for civic society.
Day in Day out we see demonstrations, strikes, fast unto death and protest marches by the groups and individuals for demands.
If Anna could not succeed in clinching something from Govt, then should public start abusing him.
The Govt did not give gratuity from back date.now should we fight with each other or govt.

Why the retirees make so much noise but don't take action. Plan some action jointly.
Why few of them don't go to Rajghat for Anshan.
Why they don't arrange a protest march at Delhi.
Why they don't get a legal opinion and try for legal remedy.
If u don't try for solution u are ur self a problem.
Once again I equovocally reiterate that We have sympathy with all elders. We are ready to provide logistic support.
The retirees have to take a lead themselves.
U can't humiliate our GS in this manner.
If u do in this group, u r not welcome.
Please make concrete plans and submit. Let us fight together and not with each other

Aadhaar seeding must for bank accounts under KYC norms: RBI

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has made linking of national biometric ID Aadhaar to bank accounts mandatory as part of its updated ‘Know Your Customer (KYC)’ guidelines.

This, however, will be subject to the final decision of the Supreme Court on making of Aadhaar mandatory, RBI said in a circular late last night.

Till now, an Officially Valid Document (OVD) for address proof together with Permanent Account Number (PAN) issued by the Income Tax department and a recent passport size photograph were the key KYC documents.

But in the amended Customer Due Diligence (CDD) procedure, RBI said, “The Aadhaar number, the PAN or Form No. 60” need to be obtained from an individual who is eligible for applying for the biometric ID.

Sources said that the move will facilitate trusted environment for banking services.

The RBI has done away with sections relating to the use of other OVD by banks for address and identity proof.

For residents of Jammu and Kashmir, Assam or Meghalaya, who do not submit Aadhaar or proof of application of enrolment for Aadhaar, the bank may obtain a “certified copy of an OVD containing details of identity and address and one recent photograph,” RBI said.

OVD means the passport, the driving licence, Voter’s Identity Card issued by the Election Commission of India, job card issued by NREGA duly signed by an officer of the State Government, letter issued by the National Population Register containing details of name and address.

RBI said Aadhaar number shall not be sought from individuals who are not residents. “From an individual who is not eligible to be enrolled for an Aadhaar number, or who is not a resident, the following shall be obtained: PAN or Form No. 60, one recent photograph and a certified copy of an OVD containing details of identity and address.”

In case the OVD furnished by the customer does not contain updated address, utility bill of not more than two months old of any service provider (electricity, telephone, post-paid mobile phone, piped gas, water bill), property or municipal tax receipt, pension or family pension payment orders (PPOs) issued to retired employees by Government Departments or Public Sector Undertakings, and letter of allotment of accommodation from employer issued by State Government or Central Government Departments may be considered, RBI said.

RBI said the KYC norms have been updated following the government’s decision to update the ‘Prevention of Money Laundering’ (PML) rules in June 2017.

The government had last month extended the date for submission of Aadhaar details for existing bank account holders indefinitely. A date would be notified after the final judgement in the petition challenging Aadhaar being heard before the Supreme Court, the government had said.

“The revised Master Direction is in accordance with the changes carried out in the PML Rules vide Gazette Notification GSR 538 (E) dated June 1, 2017 and thereafter and is subject to the final judgment of the Hon’ble Supreme Court,” RBI said while updating its master direction on know your customer norms.

According to the Aadhaar Act, a person who is residing in India for more than 180 days is eligible for applying for a Aadhaar number.

NPAs are Corporate Loot of Public Banks---In the last three years, under BJP rule at the center, the NPAs of the banks have tripled - from Rs. 2.3 lakh crores to Rs. 6.8 lakh crores.

India’s banking system, which was robust enough to withstand the financial crisis of 2008, is facing a crisis today. The banks, particularly the public sector ones, are burdened with huge amounts of non performing assets (NPAs), which are threatening the viability of the banking sector.

In the last three years, under BJP rule at the center, the NPAs of the banks have tripled - from Rs. 2.3 lakh crores to Rs. 6.8 lakh crores. Currently, the NPAs of public sector banks stand as high as 11% of their total advances.

Non-repayment of loans by some of India’s biggest corporate houses is the major cause of this huge accumulation of NPAs. According to the chairman of Parliamentary Accounts Committee, K V Thomas, a handful of big corporate houses account for 70% of the NPAs of the banks.

The Finance Minister Mr. Arun Jaitly, tried to absolve himself and his government of all the blame, claiming that the NPAs are a legacy problem. According to him the loans that were given during UPA government have turned bad and are accumulating as NPAs today.

While it is true that the UPA government compelled the public sector banks to dole out loans worth lakhs of crores to a handful of corporates, the BJP government is not far behind. It is helping the same corporates in continuing to default on the repayments – with the aid of loan refinancing and restructuring schemes introduced by the Reserve Bank.

In the last three Modi years, public sector banks have been pressured to restructure bad loans (under various schemes of RBI) worth Rs. 3.5 lakh crores belonging to the corporate houses.. These restructuring deals simply meant that the companies get new loans to pay off their old loans, which they have already defaulted on. These schemes also involve changing the terms of payments in favour of the defaulting corporates.

The infamous case of Vijay Mallya defrauding the public sector banks, is all too well known. Less publicised are those of Modi’s own crony capitalists. It is estimated that companies controlled by Adani, owe a debt of Rs. 72,000 crores mostly to public sector banks.

Since 2014, two power companies controlled by Adani’s firms have been extended loan refinance worth Rs. 15,000 crore by the public sector banks. This was done when both the companies’ earnings -before tax- were not even enough to cover the interest cost on the loans they have taken. In this sweetheart deal, the previous defaulted loans were replaced with new loans and loan repayment date was extended by one more decade. Additionally, a moratorium on interest payments was given for a considerable period, meaning that in this period these two firms need not pay even the interest amount.

Similarly, after Modi came to power, Mr. Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Gas Transport Infrastructure Ltd. (RGTIL), was given a loan refinance of Rs. 4,500 crores and an extension of payment period by more than a decade.           

According to Arun Jaitly, most of the NPAs and bad loans are due to projects in power, infrastructure, mining and steel sectors - which are owned by the large corporates like Reliance, Adani and Vedanta. Let us not forget, these are the same companies (remember Vedanta’s land grab in Orissa), whose factories and plants were set up by grabbing thousands of acres of land belonging to famers and tribals.

These billionaire promoters and owners of the companies should have been compelled to transfer the shares (equity) of these companies, to the public sector banks, in lieu of the unpaid loans. Or, they should have been made to inject fresh capital in to the defaulting companies. Refinancing of the loans, extension of payment schedules and moratoriums on interest payments – without placing any responsibility on those who control the companies are bound to bring even heavier losses to the banks in the coming days.

The government seems to think that Mukesh Ambani, with net worth of more than Rs. 1.5 lakh crore rupees needs assistance in paying back the loans of his companies, while the farmers of this country are given no recourse after severe droughts and crop losses. Desperate after years of draught, farmers from Tamil Nadu and elsewhere have been agitating for months for loan waivers. Their appeals to the central government have fallen on deaf ears. Modi government steadfastly refused to provide any assistance to the debt ridden farmers. Are the farmer’s making ridiculous demands? Consider this – The entire amount of crop loans in India is worth Rs. 75,000 crore, while Mr. Adani’s firms alone owes Rs. 72,000 crores to the banking system. Adani gets a generous restructuring on the defaulted loans, while the farmers get tough love.

While the corporates are being given a free pass, Mr. Modi’s pets in RBI are baying for the blood of public sector banks. Recently, RBI’s deputy chairman Viral Aacharya suggested that the solution to the NPA crisis is re-privatisation of some of the public sector banks and some divestment of government’s stake in others, in favour of private players. RBI Chairman, Mr. Urjit Patel was not far behind, with suggestion that small banks afflicted with NPA problems should be allowed to perish naturally. The RBI satraps seem to be forgetting that it is the bulwark of public sector banks that protected India’s financial system from the crisis of 2008.

For Mr. Modi it is not enough, that Indian corporates have defrauded banks of the public money, they are now being offered the ownership of these banks.

Concession after concession given to corporates is what marks Mr. Modi’s 3 years at the helm and there is no indication of change in course away from this. Mr. Modi is making sure that those whose money purses have brought him power are going to stay safe and sound from the consequences of their own financial and business follies. Now that he has passed a law allowing corporates to make anonymous donations to political parties, grateful corporates will no doubt be flooding him with gratitude funds for his never ending election campaigns.

Why India is Short of Cash Again

There is a currency shortage in large parts of the country with the ATMs running dry, even before the wells could run dry this summer. Various reasons have been offered for this, but primarily this is a supply problem.

This basically means that there isn't as much currency (or cash) going around in the economy, as the economy needs.

The growth in currency in circulation is closely linked to the growth in gross domestic product (GDP, a measure of economic growth). Take a look at Figure 1, which basically plots the growth in currency in circulation along with nominal GDP growth (i.e. GDP growth which hasn't been adjusted for inflation), over a two-year period, over the years. We have taken two-year periods into account, primarily to adjust for demonetisation, which had led to a massive fall in currency in circulation.

Figure 1:

What does Figure 1 tell us? It tells us that during the two-year periods between 2012 and 2014, and 2014 and 2016, the currency in circulation grew by over 20%, as did the nominal GDP.

This changed between 2016 and 2018, when the currency in circulation grew by just 10%, whereas the nominal GDP grew by 21.7%. Hence, the growth in currency in circulation has slowed down substantially.

And this is basically what has created the shortage of currency or cash, in large parts of the country. There simply isn't enough currency or cash going around.

Let's try and estimate the gap. The currency in circulation as of March 31, 2016 was at Rs 16.63 lakh crore. This increased by 10% over a period of two years, and as of March 31, 2018, stood at 18.29 lakh crore.

But as we showed earlier, this increase is an anomaly and is too low, compared to the economic growth during the same period. Now let's say, demonetisation hadn't happened and the currency in circulation had grown at the kind of pace, as it used to before.

Let's say this growth was 25% (an average of the growth for the previous periods). At 25%, the currency in circulation as on March 31,2018, should have been around Rs 20.8 lakh crore. Of course, some part of this currency in circulation would have been replaced by digital transactions. The State Bank of India in a report points out: "The shift to digital modes could be at least Rs 1.2 lakh crore."

This basically means that the currency in circulation as of March 31, 2018, should have been at Rs 19.6 lakh crore (Rs 20.8 lakh crore - Rs 1.2 lakh crore). It is currently at Rs 18.29 lakh crore. This means a gap of around Rs 1.3 lakh crore.

If we assume a more conservative growth of 20%, then currency in circulation should have been around Rs 18.8 lakh crore, or Rs 50,000 crore more than it currently is.

While, the currency in circulation number can change depending on the assumptions we make, the broader point is that there is a shortage of currency. The government has also admitted to it. As the economic affairs secretary SC Garg put it: "We print about 500 crore of Rs 500 notes per day. We have taken steps to raise this production 5 times. In next couple of days, we'll have supply of about 2500 crore of Rs 500 notes per day. In a month, supply would be about Rs 70000-75000 crore."

Actions speak louder than words. And this is the government admitting to the fact that there is a shortage of currency, and they are looking to increase the supply. Also, this is yet another indicator of the fact of how demonetisation cost this country dear and continues to create problems, despite its ill-effects coming down. If the Modi government hadn't demonetised Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes, in November 2016, the current shortage of currency would have never happened.

Another theory being offered is that elections in Karnataka scheduled on May 12, 2018, have also played their role in the shortage. Data shows that the currency in circulation tends to increase much faster, when elections (state assemblies or Lok Sabha) are around the corner.

The trouble is that elections happen all the time, but ATMs don't run dry, as they have during April 2018. So how do we explain this situation?

In the week ending April 13, 2018, the currency in circulation has gone up by around 1.8% or Rs 33,000 crore. This is clearly on the higher side. In the past, similar jumps have happed around election time, which basically means that people (or should we say politicians) hoard on to money in order to be able to spend it before elections.

Clearly, something of that sort is happening in Karnataka as well, given the historical evidence. Past evidence also shows that such hoarding happens in the states bordering the state where elections are scheduled.

Over and above this, currency shortages have been on in a few states for a while now. Take the state of Telangana. On a recent visit to Hyderabad (in early April) we were told that the state had been facing a cash shortage for a couple of months.

In fact, MPs had even raised this question in Parliament, asking the government, if it was aware that large number of ATMs in the states of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, had been running out of cash. This question was answered on March 18, 2018. (Here is the link to the government's answer).

The government in its reply said that the RBI had supplied Rs 51,523 crore to its Hyderabad office, between April 2017 and February 2018, which was the highest in the country. Clearly it wasn't enough.

The feeling we got when we were in Hyderabad was that people were generally worried about the money they had in the banks. This was aggravated by the Nirav Modi episode, which brought to the fore, the mess that public sector banks are in and all the WhatsApp rumours going around the proposed FRDI bill.

This led to people withdrawing more money from ATMs and banks than they normally would. This hoarding of cash (for both electoral as well as non-electoral reasons) obviously made the already fragile situation where the economy was generally short on cash, even more precarious. It also explains why ATMs did not run out of cash during elections previously, but have this time around.

The best way to prove this would have been to look at the total amount of cash withdrawn by people from ATMs in the states of Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Bihar etc., where there has been a significant cash crunch. But given that state wise cash-withdrawal data is not publicly available, we will have to give this a skip.

Over the past few days as the news of cash crunch has spread, it has become what economists call a self-fulfilling prophecy. The expectation that something will happen is making it happen.

Also, as we have mentioned in the past, the economy is finally coming outof the ill-effects of demonetisation, and this has led to greater economic activity and more demand for cash, given that most economic activity in India is carried out in cash.

Further, the Rs 2,000 note, which was introduced after demonetisation, is the preferred note of choice, when it comes to hoarding cash. The logic is simple. You can hoard more money in lesser notes. Also, the next highest denomination note now, after the Rs 2000 note, is the Rs 500 note, unlike the Rs 1,000 note earlier. And it takes four Rs 500 notes to replace a Rs 2,000 note. This accentuates the cash crunch.

All these reasons have been responsible for the shortage of currency in India. But the major reason remains the lack of supply of enough notes in the financial system.

UCO Bank Shares Crash 14% After CBI Books Ex-Chief In Loan Fraud Case

Shares of UCO Bank slumped 14 per cent today after Reuters reported that the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has filed a case against a former chairman of the state-run bank and several business executives alleging criminal conspiracy that caused a loss of Rs.621 crore. Bombay Stock Exchange or BSE has sought clarification from UCO Bank on this matter, According to Reuters, CBI said officials at the bank had colluded with private infrastructure firm Era Engineering Infra, and investment banking firm Altius Finserve Pvt to siphon bank loans.

UCO Bank shares traded in the range of Rs. 20.80 to Rs. 19.15 today on the BSE. At 11.41 am, shares of UCO Bank were down 8 per cent to Rs. 20.60.

CBI, according to Reuters, said in a statement that Arun Kaul, the bank's chairman between 2010-2015, had helped clear the loan.

In the UCO Bank case, Reuters reported that CBI charged Kaul and several officials and accountants at the two companies with criminal conspiracy with an intention to defraud the bank of about Rs. 621 crore by diverting and siphoning loans.

COMMENTS

"The loan was not utilized for the sanctioned purpose and was secured by producing false end use certificates issued by the chartered accountant and by fabricating business data," the CBI said.

Another state-run lender PNB had in February disclosed that companies owned by two jewellers defrauded it by raising credit from overseas branches of other Indian banks, using illegal guarantees issued by staff at a Mumbai PNB branch over several years. The fraud was pegged at over Rs. 12,000 crore.

Next Bipartite talk on 2nd May 2018 with iba

Here are the expectations of bankers from ufbu and iba on 2nd may 2018. 5 day banking,at least 30% hike on pay slip component,substantial increase in hra,cca and other allowances,fixed working hours,DA should increase like central DA. Please suggest more if I missed any point.if ufbu can't do it then leaders should resign.

Hope 02/05/2018 wouldnt be another black day in meeting with no actions on financial grounds or as usual 

Six banks, PNB,Central Bank , Andhra , Syndicate bank,BOB and OBC cheated of Rs.187 crore

In yet another case involving the Punjab National Bank, the Central Bureau of Investigation has registered an FIR against S.S.K Trading, its directors and others for allegedly cheating a consortium of six banks of ₹187 crore.

According to the agency, the PNB and other banks: the Central Bank of India, Andhra Bank, Syndicate Bank, Bank of Baroda and the Oriental Bank of Commerce, were part of the consortium.

The accused persons allegedly removed and disposed of the hypothecated stocks and cheated the banks by submitting false stock statements and other related documents.

Certain bank officials are also under the CBI scanner for suspected role.

Letter to Prime MInister for Gratuity Amendment Act 2018 – Re-fixation of Appointed Date as 01/01/2016.

13 APR 2018 — To
The Prime Minister of India
New Delhi.

Dear Prime Minister,

Sub: Gratuity Amendment Act 2018 –Request for Re-fixation of Appointed Date as 01/01/2016.

Namashkar. Sorry to address you very casually as I sincerely feel that any other ways of salutations will be adjectives in nature but the word DEAR is apt as it emanates from the depth of my Heart.

I am a retired Banker, retired on 31.01.2017 from a Public Sector Bank after serving the institution for 34 years honestly with dedication. Under this background I put forth the following issue on behalf of me and several other employees retired from 01/01/2016 to 29/03/2018, for your kind consideration and favourable orders:

Recently, the long and eagerly awaited Gratuity Act Amendments were notified on 29/03/2018 enhancing the Ceiling to Rs.20.00 lakhs (from the existing Rs.10.00 lakhs) with the Appointed Date (effective Date) as 29/03/2018, which made several Senior Citizens/Retired Employees other than Government Employees disappointed and frustrated due to deprivation of a genuine monetary benefits under the Act from 01/01/2016, the date from which the Government Employees were awarded enhanced amount.

Gratuity is one of the most important Social retirement benefits for all the section of the employees, the work force of the country. Due to the continuous inflationary trend and erosion in value of rupee, several Trade Unions viz. BMS/HMS/AITUC/CITU and all other Central Trade Unions had been representing to the Government from time to time for improvement/removal of ceiling under the Gratuity Act. Due to their effort, the ceiling was increased from Rs. 1 Lac to Rs. 2.50 Lacs, Rs.2.5 Lacs to Rs. 3.50 Lacs, Rs.3.5 Lacs to Rs. 10 Lacs in May, 2010 and again recently to Rs.20 Lacs. This increase during the last five decades had been necessitated due to constant increase in inflation, the efforts of the Central Trade Unions and accepting the reality by the earlier Governments and the present Government.

The present Amendment is also aimed at continued Social Security to retired workmen in the country and was approved in the background quoted below from the excerpts of Cabinet Note dated 12/09/2017:

QUOTE:
“The Payment of Gratuity Act, 1972 applies to establishments employing 10 or more persons. The main purpose for enacting this Act is to provide social security to workmen after retirement, whether retirement is a result of the rules of superannuation, or physical disablement or impairment of vital part of the body. Therefore, the Payment of Gratuity Act, 1972 is an important social security legislation to wage earning population in industries, factories and establishments.

The present upper ceiling on gratuity amount under the Act is Rs. 10 Lakh. The provisions for Central Government employees under Central Civil Services (Pension) Rules, 1972 with regard to gratuity are also similar. Before implementation of 7th Central Pay Commission, the ceiling under CCS (Pension) Rules, 1972 was Rs. 10 Lakh. However, with implementation of 7th Central Pay Commission, in case of Government servants, the ceiling now is Rs. 20 Lakhs effective from 1.1.2016.
Therefore, considering the inflation and wage increase even in case of employees engaged in private sector, the Government is of the view that the entitlement of gratuity should be revised for employees who are covered under the Payment of Gratuity Act, 1972. Accordingly, the Government initiated the process for amendment to Payment of Gratuity Act, 1972.”
UNQUOTE
From the above one may infer and firmly believe that the intention of the Government is to provide Social Security to ALL Workmen in the Country EQUALLY and there should not be a different yard stick in providing the BENEFITS. There cannot be two different opinions on this count, in treating all the workmen equally without ANY DISCRIMINATION. When the Government understands the need for enhancement of Gratuity Limit where comes the different dates of implementation? We the poor Senior Citizens, after serving four decades and above (service of 40 years plus), undergo discriminations every time by belated implementation without application of mind to the real issue by the officials concerned people representatives. When government clearly understands the necessity for suitable compensation to the Workers, what is the need for disparity? Every worker has to be treated with DIGNITY EQUALITY AND FAIRNESS and the Government should set an example to this. LIKE ONE RANK ONE PENSION effected by your Government, GRATUITY NOTIFICATION AND EFFECTIVE DATE SHOULD also BE UNIFORM THROUGHOUT THE COUNTRY AMONG ALL WORKING CLASS.

It is observed that in the Recent Amendment to Gratuity Act, the Government of India is empowered to Notify the Quantum of Gratuity and APPOINTED DATE, through a Notification without the need for amending the Act in future and the amendment does not restrict the Governement to Notify the Effective Date uniformly to all sections of the employee. It is informed that the Central Unions were assured in various earlier meetings with the Hon’ble Minister of Labour that Gratuity Ceiling will be extended to all the workmen on par with the Central Govt. Employees.

Further during the passage of Amended Bill in Both the Houses of Parliament, there was no detailed discussions for various reasons and the views/feedback of the members could not be addressed due to paucity of time. Hence this petition to your honourable office.

It is learnt that the primary intention of this amendment to Gratuity Act was to empower the Labour Ministry to alleviate the suffering of the working class and to suitably announce enhancements in future also, without placing an Amendment before the Parliament, which takes considerable time, man power and delay. This being the reason, now it is a decision lying with Ministry of Labour and PMO to have announced the date of effect as 01/01/2016 AND NOT 29/03/2018, thus dashing the hopes and expectations of thousands of retirees, since 01/01/2016.


Hon’ble PM You may also be very well aware that, we, the Working Class are prompt in paying Income Tax and filing IT Returns as the dutiful Citizens of India and discharge our national duty in contributing to the Government coffers all along our service. Even post retirement we continue to pay tax, on the interest earned on our Hard Earned Pensions/Savings Invested in various FDs in Banks/Post Office Schemes. In fact we contribute cheap funds to Banking Industry/Government Investments to keep the wheel of economy rolling smoothly for national development.

The main agenda in bringing these amendments were to prevent delays as and when future amendments are made. If this being the reason, by giving retrospective effect from 01 01 2016 you have ensured passing on the benefit to not only the future retirees but also the retirees retired on or after 01 012016.

I am very much aware and confident that your Government understands the needs of people of all sections, especially to social causes and benefits of all. I am proud that the your Government ALWAYS HEARS the VOICE OF THE PEOPLE.

Dear Prime Minister, I am sure that I, on my behalf and on behalf of the several retirees (retired from 01/01/2016 to 28/03/2018) who are deprived of the enhanced benefits, have convinced you enough to reconsider the decision of EFFECTIVE DATE AND to RENOTIFY THE APPOINTED DATE AS 01/01/2016 UNIFORMLY FOR ALL to instil the confidence in us.

We eagerly look forward to your favourable orders in the matter and we wish you TO CONTINUE TO LEAD AND LIFT INDIA to greater heights in the world.

Any unintentional words in the content of this letter may kindly be excused/ignored.

Jai Hind.

Yours Sincerely,


K CHANDRASEKARAN
12/04/2018
CHENNAI

Another fraud of Rs 621 cr from UCO bank CBI books Case former UCO Bank CMD

The Central Bureau of Investigation has registered a case against former Chairman-cum-Managing Director (CMD) of UCO Bank – Arun Kaul and two private companies – Era Engineering Infra India Ltd (EEIL) and Altius Finserve Pvt Ltd and their directors and few chartered accountants for allegedly cheating the public sector bank of Rs 621 crore.

After registering the case, CBI teams on Saturday conducted raids at 10 places in Delhi and Mumbai including Kaul’s residence, premises of CAs and the private companies.

Kaul was the CMD of UCO Bank between 2010 and 2015, before the government refused to extend his tenure.

CBI Spokesperson Abhishek Dayal said that Kaul, Hem Singh Bharana (CMD of EEIL), two CAs - Pankaj Jain and Vandana Sharda and Pawan Bansal of Altius and other unknown public servants/private persons have been booked in the latest case.

It was alleged that Kaul and others, as part of a criminal conspiracy, defrauded UCO Bank to the tune of Rs 621 crore by diversion and siphoning of the bank loans. The loan was not utilized for the sanctioned purpose and was secured by producing false end use certificates issued by the CA and by fabricating business data etc,” said Dayal.

He added that the irregularities took place when Kaul was the CMD of UCO Bank.

EEIL, according to its website, is engaged in the business of construction/engineering in roads, highways, power, metro, aviation, social infra, industrial refinery etc. It claims to work for some the biggest names in the industry.

In a separate matter, on the complaint of Punjab National Bank (PNB), CBI has filed a case against SSK Trading Pvt Ltd and its directors for cheating six banks including PNB of Rs 187.29 crore.

No need for so many nationalised banks, Privatisation of banking system ideal for the modern economy

he existence of nationalised banks is antithetical to modern India, says Rangarajan Sundaram, Dean, NYU’s Stern School of Business.

There is no political will to privatise the banks and there is no other reason to have so many nationalised banks, he said, during a recent interview in Chennai, when he was asked about the financial fraud at the government-owned Punjab National Bank.

“Ask yourself that question, if you were devising a banking system Ab ovo, would you have so many nationalised banks in the country. The answer is clearly not. Therefore, we have a sub-optimal banking system,” he said.

What would an ideal banking system for today’s India look like, he wondered, and said, “my suspicion is we would find very few nationalised banks in an ideal system”. It was like having nationalised car companies.

Market forces, said Sundaram, do not impinge on nationalised banks the way they do to a HDFC Bank or an ICICI Bank. It was time to bring market discipline to play. Nationalised banks had this unfortunate feature in that everybody thinks the government would back-stop them since it owned them.

Regulatory problems

However, he said, privatisation was not a panacea to getting rid of the regulatory problem. Even private banks needed to be regulated because banks controlled the payment system, which was vital to the operation of the economy.

Banking crises, he said, erupt in countries where banks are largely private also. It had happened in the US, the UK and Europe. SocGen, JP Morgan and UBS were some that had faced major problems. Risk management and regulation, Sundaram said, were important to all banks. Regulators could never afford to take their eye off the ball and privatisation was not a panacea to either the risk management issue or the regulatory issue.

Privatisation, however, would make the banking system more responsive to the needs of a modern economy. “We have an economy that is modernising at breakneck speed in some areas, and in some areas we are stuck with a legacy which is really out of tune with a modern India,” said Sundaram, an Economics graduate from the University of Madras and an MBA from IIM Ahmedabad before obtaining an MA and an PhD in Economics from Cornell University.

It was a “classic statist argument for why you need state control on everything” to say that private banks had faced huge scandals in the West and that India could ill afford to have such things happening here. For many years, Sundaram argued, Myanmar ran a closed economy in which it had no banking crisis, no crisis of any sort, no trade. Only problem was they had no growth.

“So, it is all right to look at the downside and say, we avoided the downside. What about the upside,” he asked. “What about the fact that Korea and China were growing at 10 per cent, and we were limping along at 5 per cent a year because the banking system was too sclerotic to respond to the needs of the economy,” he said.

Risks and benefits

There were risks and benefits in privatisation. “To me, the benefits clearly outweigh the risks because markets are really very sensitive,” he said. Anything that was chugging along in India was strongly driven by the private sector. “Our tech companies are not state-run organisations. The only bank of ours that ranks in the top 50 companies in Asia is HDFC Bank, which is a private bank.”

He pointed out that HDFC, ICICI, IDBI and IFCI were all development finance institutions and two of them – ICICI and HDFC – got privatised while the others did not. “Look at the difference today. Look at the growth that has been enabled by ICICI and HDFC/HDFC Bank.”

“I find this argument really sad when you say I want to avoid downside risks, so I am not going to do anything. We have hundreds of millions of people in poverty who need to be lifted out of poverty. You can’t do that unless you free up the system,” added Sundaram.

Bank unions pitch for nationalisation of private banks

Employees unions of public sector banks have made a strong pitch for nationalisation of private sector lenders amid allegation of corporate governance lapses and concealing of information. Various allegations and imposition of fines for violation of guidelines raise a serious question mark on their ability to deal with the public money, unions said, adding that the recent events has also punctured their claims of being most efficient banks.

Many private sector banks which are pampered by the government are in crisis, and ICICI Bank and Axis Bank are the examples, All India Bank Officers’ Confederation (AIBOC) General Secretary D T Franco said in a statement. “So, it is high time, the Government of India and RBI intervene and nationalise the private sector banks so that the sector plays the vital role in commanding heights of the economy and there is growth in farm sector as well as employment,” AIBOC joint general secretary Ravinder Gupta said.

Surprisingly, most of the private sector banks are owned by foreign investors and they are reaping the benefits of high valuation and dividend yields, Gupta said, adding that the investors are taking away large chunk of profit, while public sector banks pay part of profit to the government as dividend, which is utilised for the development activities in the country.

Echoing similar views, All India Bank Employees’ Association (AIBEA) General Secretary C H Venkatachalam said everyone is by now aware what is the reality about the so called champions of efficiency in the banking sector. “Both ICICI Bank and Axis Bank together have deposits of the public to the tune of Rs 9 lakh crore. We need to safeguard this public money. They talked about better governance in private banks. ICICI Bank was projected as a role model. What happened to that now,” he said.

There are serious charges of corruption and nepotism in sanction of loans, he said, adding there are repeated suppression of bad loans and under provisioning. “All these unethical things are going on for a long time. Just changing the top executives will not suffice. It is high time that the government should come forward to nationalise ICICI Bank and Axis Bank,” he said.

Venkatachalam further said ever since the Punjab National Bank -Nirav Modi fraud came to light, there has been strong voice from different corners demanding privatisation of public sector banks and it started with industry chamber Assocham making this demand, followed by FICCI.

Later Chief Economic Adviser Arvind Subramanian, and former Niti Aayog vice chairman joined the chorus, he said. “Their only argument was that PNB fraud has taken place because of the inefficiency of public sector ownership of banks. They conveniently forgot the fact that between 1947 (independence) and 1969 (nationalisation of Banks), 736 private banks had collapsed and closed down due to mismanagement by the (private owners of these banks),” he said. Even after 1969, 36 private banks had collapsed or merged with other banks, Venkatachalam added.

There are allegations of nepotism against ICICI Bank CEO Chanda Kochhar, putting a question mark on the bank’s corporate governance. According to the reports, Kochhar’s husband Deepak Kochhar had formed a joint venture with Videocon promoter Venugopal Dhoot for a business dealing in renewable energy and there were a string of transactions later, which gave him full control of the venture after the exit of Dhoot.

Earlier this week, the Axis Bank board has curtailed the fourth term of its CEO and managing director Shikha Sharma to seven months, following an unusual request from her that she be relieved in December 2018, 29 months ahead of the scheduled term. The board’s decision came amid RBI raising questions over her re-appointment for the fourth term as MD and CEO of the third largest private sector lender in the wake of mounting non-performing assets (NPAs).

7th pay commission: Good news for these officials as now their salaries are equal to top notch govt staff

 

The government has given good news to a certain section of employees as their salary had been hiked according to the recommendations of the seventh pay commission. The salary of the Lieutenant Governors of Union Territories has been increased and made on a par with the emoluments of secretaries of the central government.

The decision has been taken at a meeting of the Union Cabinet presided by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday. 

The Union Cabinet has given its nod for the revision of salary and allowances of Lieutenant Governors of Union Territories and it will be on a par with that of the secretary to the government of India, an official statement said.

The proposal for increasing the pay and allowances of LGs with effect from January 1, 2016 from Rs 80,000 per month plus dearness allowance, sumptuary allowance at the rate of Rs 4,000 per month and local allowances to Rs 2,25,000 plus dearness allowance, sumptuary allowance at the rate of Rs 4,000 per month and local allowances at the same rate as applicable to the officers of the rank of secretary to the central government.

It will be subject to the condition that the total emoluments (excluding sumptuary allowance and local allowances) shall not exceed the total emoluments drawn by the Governor of a state, the statement said.

The decision came two months after Finance Minister Arun Jaitley had announced in his 2018-19 Budget that emoluments of the President would be revised to Rs 5 lakh, Rs 4 lakh for the vice president and to Rs 3.5 lakh per month for the governors.

The President was getting Rs 1.50 lakh per month, the Vice President Rs 1.25 lakh and a governor Rs 1.10 lakh. After the implementation of the 7th Pay Commissions awards on 1 January 2016, the cabinet secretary, who is the top-most bureaucrat in the country, gets Rs 2.5 lakh per month and a secretary in the Union government draws Rs 2.25 lakh per month.

There are seven UTs in the country -- Delhi, Puducherry, Andaman and Nicober Islands, Laskhadweep, Chandigarh, Dadar and Nagar Haveli, and Daman and Diu. However, only Delhi, Puducherry and Andaman and Nicober Islands have LGs Laskhadweep, Dadar and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu have administrators while Chandigarh is governed by the Punjab Governor. 

Meanwhile, it has also been reported that the NDA government may soon make revision in annual salaries and allowances of central government employees. 

According to Sen Times report, the government is mulling over increasing the salaries of the central government employees before the 2019 General elections in a bid to get their support. 

Not only this, the report also claims that following the footsteps of the Madhya Pradesh government, the Centre is also likely to increase the retirement age of the central government employees from 60 to 62 years.

“Taking a leaf from Chouhan ahead of general elections next year, The BJP-led central government is mulling to implement the pay hike for central government employees,” a senior government official told the Sen Times.