The United Forum of Bank Unions (UFBU), an umbrella body of nine unions, has given a call for a two-day strike from December 16 to protest against the proposed privatisation of two state-owned lenders. In the Union Budget presented in February, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had announced the privatisation of two public sector banks (PSBs) as part of its disinvestment plan. The government has already privatised IDBI Bank by selling its majority stake in the lender to LIC in 2019 and merged 14 public sector banks in the past four years.
Under the new rules, users must take a "live selfie" using software that verifies their presence, typically through eye-blinking or head movement. The measure helps prevent the use of static photos or deepfakes.
The NHRC has issued notices to all states and Union territories following reports of children testing HIV positive after blood transfusions in Madhya Pradesh. The commission is seeking detailed reports on the matter within four weeks.
I am inclined to believe that the Venezuela adventure is not an indication of American strength, alas, but rather of American weakness, points out Rajeev Srinivasan.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah emphasizes the need for a unified anti-terrorism structure and a strong anti-terrorism grid across India to effectively counter terror attacks. He also announced a new plan to combat organized crime.
The unions also made a case for introduction of cluster or hub banking, identifying few branches of each bank in each locality so as to enable bank employees to work on rotation.
While the DMK depends on a 'silver sieve' of welfare schemes to stay in power, its support is slowly draining away under the weight of poor governance, corruption, and voters who are no longer satisfied with benefits alone and now want basic administration to work, observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
Public-sector banks (PSBs) are attracting the attention of investors and the PSU Bank Index has gained nearly 10 per cent in the past month. PSBs have seen return on assets (RoA) climbing to 1 per cent in 2024-2025 (FY25) and margins are believed to have moved up further in the first half of this financial year (H1FY26) with asset quality remaining stable.
Rural India outpaced urban centres in passenger vehicle sales in 2025, recording a growth of 12 per cent compared with 8 per cent in cities.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah accuses West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee of facilitating illegal immigration from Bangladesh, leading to demographic changes. He promises to end infiltration if BJP wins the upcoming elections.
The government has infused over Rs 3,100 crore into women-led startups over the past six years, through its three schemes including the Fund of Funds for Startups (FFS), Startup India Seed Fund Scheme (SISFS), and Credit Guarantee Scheme for Startups (CGSS) to boost female entrepreneurship across the country, according to an update shared by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry.
A man-made forest created by Padma Shri awardee Jadav Payeng, known as 'Forest Man of India', was substantially damaged after miscreants set it on fire. An investigation has been ordered.
Reserve Bank Governor Bimal Jalan on Monday held a meeting the bankmen's unions in order to address the problems faced by the bank employees in issuing clean currency notes to the public.
Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister (EAC-PM) member Sanjeev Sanyal on Thursday said he is not concerned about the rupee at all, arguing that even China and Japan witnessed exchange rate weaknesses during their high growth phases.
State Bank of India-led public sector banks posted a record cumulative profit of Rs 49,456 crore in the second quarter of the current fiscal, reflecting a 9 per cent year-on-year growth despite two lenders reporting a decline. All 12 public sector banks (PSBs) together made a profit of Rs 45,547 crore in the September quarter of FY25.
The Supreme Court has directed the CBI to conduct a pan-India investigation into digital arrest scams and questioned the RBI about its lack of AI usage in detecting and freezing accounts used by cybercriminals.
The United Forum of Bank Unions (UFBU) on Thursday said its two-day nationwide strike on March 24 and 25 will be observed as scheduled since discussions with the Indian Banks' Association (IBA) over key demands failed to yield any positive outcome. In a meeting with the IBA, all UFBU constituents raised issues, including recruitment in all cadres and a five-day workweek.
The United Forum of Bank Unions (UFBU), an umbrella body of nine unions, on Tuesday gave a call for a two-day strike from March 15 to protest against the proposed privatisation of two state-owned lenders. In the Union Budget presented last week, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced the privatisation of two Public Sector Banks (PSBs) as part of its disinvestment plan. The government has already privatised IDBI Bank by selling its majority stake in the lender to LIC in 2019 and merged 14 public sector banks in the last four years.
Public sector banks (PSBs) have seen a sharp drop in household deposits from 70.6 per cent to 63 per cent in contrast with private banks, which witnessed a surge from 27.1 per cent to 34.1 per cent.
Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav accuses the Congress of spreading misinformation regarding the new definition of the Aravallis and defends the government's commitment to protecting the mountain range while allowing limited, legal mining.
Employees of four bank unions participating in strike are from All India Bank Employees Association, Bank Employees Federation of India, All India Bank Officers' Association and National Union of Bank Employees.
Maharashtra Sports Minister Manikrao Kokate challenges his conviction in a 1995 cheating and forgery case, facing potential loss of his cabinet post and assembly seat.
In a significant development, the Supreme Court on Tuesday sought responses from the Centre, CBI, ED, Anil Ambani and the Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group (ADAG) on a PIL seeking a court-monitored probe into alleged massive banking and corporate fraud involving the ADAG and its group companies.
Next week's three-nation foreign tour of Prime Minister Narendra Modi will see India and Oman sign a free trade deal. The visit will also pave the way for agreements with Ethiopia and Jordan to increase India's bilateral trade and investments.
India and Russia have agreed to encourage joint manufacturing of military hardware and spare parts in India, aiming to improve maintenance of Russian-origin defence equipment and boost overall bilateral defence cooperation.
Canadian firm Manulife and Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M), an Indian automaker with interests in financial services, have signed an agreement to form a 50:50 life insurance joint venture (JV) with a total capital commitment of up to Rs 3,600 crore each totalling Rs 7,200 crore.
India's merchandise exports grew in the first three weeks of November compared with the same period last year, according to preliminary government data, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said on Tuesday. The uptick comes despite globa
'Judges have transmitted a terrible message to citizens across the nation. All right-thinking individuals will be disturbed by what the Delhi high court judges have done.'
The Gujarat Anti Terrorist Squad (ATS) has arrested a retired Army man and a woman for allegedly sharing sensitive information about military establishments and personnel with Pakistani agents.
This is the fourth such death reported in the state since the exercise began on November 4, sparking a political blame game.
The Russians have termed Putin's visit to India, his first to this country since the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine war, as 'Druzhba Dosti', which means 'friendship' in Russian and Hindi respectively.
A phone number and e-mail are often enough for a fraudster to trick a lender into pulling your report and disbursing a loan.
The unions also suggested banks can extend special and exclusive loans to the airline to pay the salary dues or some subsistence payments to them against proper collateral.
The best course for the government at this time would be to tighten the seat belt a little more, without compromising on its investments in creating better infrastructure and giving a push to privatisation, points out A K Bhattacharya.
Agitators at Tezpur University on Sunday vowed to enforce a shutdown at the institution, which has been witnessing sustained protests since mid-September against alleged irregularities by Vice Chancellor Shambhu Nath Singh, till a formal communication from the Centre regarding the VC's removal is received.
The Deepa Thoon controversy, if not allowed to die a natural death, could take the election focus away from the anti-incumbency impacting the DMK and into the secular space. Stalin would love to have it that way, all over again, after the three past elections, points out N Sathiya Moorthy.
'Earnings growth will be the main driver of India's market in 2026, with profits expected to rise 9% to 10% in H2 FY26 and accelerate to 12% to 15% in FY27.'
Reliance Group Chairman Anil Ambani on Tuesday appeared before the Enforcement Directorate here for questioning in a money laundering case linked to alleged multiple bank loan fraud cases worth crores of rupees against his group companies, official sources said.
'I will not be surprised if there is a 7 per cent handle in front of the decimal place for the full financial year.'
A section of the public sector banking employees will go on two-day all-India strike from Wednesday to protest against financial sector reforms and outsourcing of jobs.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances