Banking services were affected on Friday as employees of public sector banks struck work demanding compassionate appointments, fresh recruitments, one more pension option and ban on outsourcing and merger of public sector banks.
Airports across the country witnessed chaotic scenes on Friday after dozens of flights were either delayed or cancelled after a widespread global computer outage that also hit operations like cash withdrawal at some banks, and impacted functioning of some brokerages. Globally, the Microsoft cloud outage led to US airlines cancelling flights, but the tech giant later reportedly said its cloud services outage in the Central US region has been resolved.
Of the eight RBI governors who have held office since the 1991 economic liberalisation, Bimal Jalan had the longest stint and S Venkitaramanan, the shortest. Current Governor Shaktikanta Das will overtake Bimal Jalan before completing his second term in December, points out Tamal Bandyopadhyay.
Days after the Karnataka governor granted sanction for the prosecution of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah in the Mysuru Urban Development Authority case, the Congress' top leadership on Friday expressed its backing for him and alleged that the Centre had unleashed a systematic assault through a 'puppet governor' to destabilise an elected government.
The Aam Aadmi Party dismissed the allegation as "baseless" and claimed it was "another conspiracy hatched by the BJP" to tarnish AAP's image ahead of voting for Lok Sabha seats in Delhi and Punjab.
Besides the national capital, polling for the sixth round of the marathon seven-phase elections will be held Saturday in 14 seats in Uttar Pradesh, all 10 seats of Haryana, eight seats each in Bihar and West Bengal, six seats in Odisha, four seats in Jharkhand and one seat in Jammu and Kashmir.
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'Any finality in such matters requires political views. We will review it closer to the full Budget.'
Reserve Bank of India on Thursday said a centralised portal would be ready in three to four months wherein depositors and beneficiaries can access details of unclaimed deposits across various banks. As of February this year, about Rs 35,000 crore of unclaimed deposits were transferred to RBI by public sector banks in respect of deposits which were not operated for 10 years or more. "In order to improve and widen the access of depositors/beneficiaries to such data, RBI has decided to develop a web portal to enable search across multiple banks for possible unclaimed deposits based on user inputs," RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das said while announcing the first bi-monthly monetary policy for the current financial year.
The anti-labour policies of the government will leave the employees in the lurch and take away all their safeguards, says V K Gupta, Delhi convenor of United Forum of Bank Unions.
The nation-wide strike call has been given by United Forum of Bank Unions, consisting of nine national level unions, including AIBEA, NCBE, BEFI, INBEF, NOBW and AIBOC.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi led-NDA government in its third term must tackle the problem of unemployment in the country, especially in the unorganised sector and in small and medium enterprises, former NITI Aayog Vice Chairman Rajiv Kumar said on Monday. Kumar also emphasised that the government now must finalise the four labour codes as it has been delayed beyond expectations. "We must recognise that post-COVID economic recovery has been a K-shaped recovery.
Bank employees' unions have decided go on a day-long strike on January 7 across the country to press for a wage hike. Bank unions have also threatened to go on strike on multiple days later this month if their demand is not accepted.
'The Indian private sector knows how to build and run educational organisations, what is needed is a large dose of removal of restrictions.' 'Government restrictions hold back universities in India from launching medical schools,' argue Ajay Shah and Vijay Kelkar.
Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao-led Bharat Rashtra Samiti has pinned hopes on the development work his government undertook during the past ten years, while opposition Congress and BJP bank on anti-incumbency and the alleged failures of the incumbent.
Two days after five Chinese nationals were killed in a suicide attack at a hydropower project in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in Pakistan, a Chinese company has suspended civil works and laid off hundreds of workers at another hydropower project in the same restive province, according to media reports on Thursday.
'The Budget needs to focus more on social welfare schemes.'
Public sector lender Union Bank of India on Tuesday announced interest rates for new home loans up to Rs 50 lakh at 8 per cent for one year.
Union Bank of India on Wednesday reported a 28.83 per cent jump in net profit for the year ended March 31, 2004 at Rs 712.05 crore (Rs 7.12 billion) as compared to Rs 552.69 crore (Rs 5.53 billion) in the corresponding period of the previous year.
With the rise in interest rates, bond yields have been on the rise; this will dent banks' treasury profits. Also, many retail borrowers may find it difficult to service their loans when the loan rates rise, points out Tamal Bandyopadhyay.
Banks all over the country will observe a day's strike on August 24 in protest against the delay in settlement of wage negotiations.
With the reality of coalition politics staring the BJP in its face, this was inevitable, points out Ramesh Menon.
According to Association officials, Indian Banks' Association offered only a 11.5 per cent increase in hike compared to 17.5 per cent offered in 2011-12.
The two-day nationwide strike call, demanding early wage revision among other issues, was given by United Forum of Bank Unions that comprises nine national unions.
A major reshuffle of top executives in 11 PSU banks is on the cards with the chairmen of Allahabad Bank, Corporation Bank, Syndicate Bank, Union Bank of India and Vijaya Bank slated to retire between March-July 2006.
Union Bank of India inked an agreement with The New India Assurance Co to market its non life insurance products in its quest to become a single point provider of financial service to its customers.
India needs to recognise and address challenges posed by its dependence on China for critical minerals and examine the implications of phasing down coal on bank balance sheets as it accelerates its green transition, the government's Economic Survey 2023-24 tabled in Parliament on Monday said. As part of its national plan to contribute to meeting the global goal of limiting the average temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius, India has committed to reducing emissions by 45 per cent below 2005 levels by 2030, achieving 50 per cent cumulative electric installed capacity from non-fossil fuel-based energy resources, and creating a carbon sink of 2.5 to 3 gigatons of CO2 equivalent through additional forest and tree cover.
Union Minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal's recent comments on large e-commerce players have reignited the debate about their impact on smaller offline retailers. On Wednesday, Goyal said that the rapid growth of e-commerce in India is a "cause for concern" and is diminishing the market share of small, mom-and-pop stores by offering high-margin products such as consumer electronics and apparel at discounted rates.
This appears to be a common refrain in Uttar Pradesh's Lakhimpur Kheri Lok Sabha constituency where farmers want better prices for their produce and respite from the stray cattle menace and others want political leaders to talk about job creation instead of issues like the Ram temple and Article 370.
Whether she will pare the fiscal deficit target of 5.1 per cent of GDP, using the record dividend received from the RBI, or expand flagship government programmes will be keenly watched.
The central government is looking to strengthen the boards of public sector banks (PSBs) by specifying terms of office and conditions of service for whole-time directors, and also seeking disclosures from all directors about interests in other companies. Through the Banking Laws Amendment Bill, the government is likely to introduce conditions for disqualification of whole-time and independent directors which are not specified in the current legislation. The Centre is seeking to introduce fresh changes that are aimed at strengthening the boards of PSBs, and holding their directors accountable, an official said.
The Centre on Monday made public the rules under the recently-notified anti-paper leak law, mandating the National Recruitment Agency (NRA) to prepare norms, standards and guidelines for the computer-based tests among others.
At a time when retrenchment has almost become synonymous with financial companies, state-run Union Bank of India is looking to hire 5,000 people at different levels to support its branch expansion plans.
As of December 2010, the bank's total outlets, including branches, stood at 5,017. Its ATM network stood at 2,516 units.
'What's sad today is that there are so many people who cannot find work, not because the country is devoid of that opportunity, but because we are not doing enough in the country.'
For now, Modi's government appears singularly focussed on demonstrating that it is not in any way inhibited by the BJP's loss of a majority, and will continue along its patented path of bulldozing all opposition and doing just as it likes, asserts Prem Panicker.
The bank expects Securities and Exchange Board of India approval for its proposed asset management company in the next few days, Raman said, adding once the approval is secured, the bank expects to start operations of the AMC in a couple of months.