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The <keyword id="47209" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="finance-ministry" source="Orion">Finance Ministry</keyword> will move ahead with the already-announced and planned privatisation of state-owned companies in the next fiscal, and the chances of the new addition to that list of CPSEs in the <keyword id="6358021" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="budget" source="Orion">Budget</keyword> for 2023-24 is unlikely, sources said. The disinvestment target outlined in the Budget for the next fiscal is likely to be a scaled-down and realistic one, as the budgeted PSU sell-off target is going to be missed for the fourth year in a row this fiscal. In the current fiscal, the government had budgeted to collect Rs 65,000 crore from disinvestment. However, so far, it has realised only Rs 31,106 crore by selling minority stakes in public sector companies. After tasting success in privatising loss-making Air India in 2021, the progress of PSU sell-off has not been very impressive over the past year, and experts say that with the general election around the corner in 2024, no major disinvestment announcement is expected in this Budget either. "The plan is to move ahead with the strategic sale of the companies for which the Cabinet approval is already in place," an official told PTI. This means that the government will go ahead with the privatisation of companies like Shipping Corporation of India, NMDC Steel Ltd, BEML, HLL Lifecare, Container Corporation of India and RINL or <keyword id="221747" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="vizag-steel" source="Orion">Vizag Steel</keyword>, as well as the big ticket IDBI Bank. Considering that strategic sale or privatisation takes at least a year, and in some cases even more, to conclude, a high budgeted disinvestment target may not be achievable. Nangia Andersen LLP, Partner- Government and Public Sector Advisory, Suraj Nangia said: "The privatization process often takes time, depending on the type of privatization and the economic, social, and political context, emphasizing the importance of a medium-term plan, a solid regulatory framework, and competitive markets". "A multi-year strategic plan for privatisation can be formulated to ensure there is a concrete timeline and a well-designed sequencing and strategy for privatisation," Nangia said. EY India, <keyword id="665532" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="associate-partner" source="Orion">Associate Partner</keyword>, Tax and Economic Policy Group, Rajnish <keyword id="6356160" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="gupta" source="Orion">Gupta</keyword> said the privatisation programme may see an uptick after the 2024 general elections. "Maybe this year's Budget is going to be a little muted and we may see announcements around disinvestment and sale of minority stakes. After 2024, we may see an acceleration in the privatisation programme again," Gupta said. In the past year, the government had called off a couple of strategic sales, including BPCL, due to a lack of investor interest. Experts feel that the private sector will be more keen on buying state-owned companies if their deal is sweetened with tax incentives and regulatory exemptions. Nangia said private sector participation is more likely to be successful when the required information is accurate, such as that of the operating performance, the condition of assets etc. "An important factor considered by investors as they decide on bidding in privatisation programme is a 'predictable regulatory environment and absence of undue administrative impediments to business in general'. Other relevant factors include sufficient and accessible resources, including the presence of relevant infrastructure and human capital, tax incentives, financial subsidies and regulatory exemptions," Nangia added. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/budget/news/budgeting-for-climate-change/articleshow/97378027.cms">Budgeting for the fifth C</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/news/an-app-that-wants-to-turn-fear-of-stock-markets-into-fun-raises-75-lakh-from-sharks/articleshow/97378121.cms">An app that wants to turn fear of stock markets into fun raises ₹75 lakh from sharks</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/india/news/steps-taken-in-subsidence-hit-joshimath-inadequate-declare-himalayas-eco-sensitive-zone-say-experts/articleshow/97411665.cms">Steps taken in subsidence-hit Joshimath inadequate, declare Himalayas eco-sensitive zone, say experts</a>

Finance Ministry to stick to privatisation of already announced CPSEs next fiscal

Airtel, SBI, Central Bank of India, IOB and other stocks to watch out for on June 22

<ul><li>Lok Sabha passed the <keyword id="6366282" type="DEFINITION" weightage="20" keywordseo="General-Insurance">General Insurance</keyword> Business (Nationalisation) Amendment Bill, 2021 on August 2.</li><li>The bill seeks to remove the requirement of the union government holding not less than 51% of the equity capital in a specified insurer.</li><li>Now this bill will bring in higher private sector participation in government held <keyword id="35450" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="insurance">insurance</keyword> companies.</li><li>This is in relation to the finance minister’s budget speech where she mentioned that the government wants to privatise two public sector banks and one general insurance company.</li></ul>The General Insurance Business (Nationalisation) Amendment Bill, 2021 was passed by the Rajya Sabha on August 11. The bill seeks to remove the requirement that the union government should hold 51% stake in a specified general insurer. With this bill, the government will progress its divestment plans and privatise one of the general insurance companies. The government hopes that this will lead to more people getting insurance in the country. Right now, less than four in every 100 Indians have any kind of insurance. With the move, foreign investors will be able to hold up to 74% in the divested general insurance company. A report by <a href="https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/business/india-business/centre-to-scrap-51-holding-clause-to-privatise-insurer/articleshow/84747204.cms">Times of India</a> suggests that the government will privatise one of the general insurance companies from United India Insurance, National Insurance and Oriental Insurance. The Finance Minister had said in the budget it would privatise one of the public general insurance companies. This is in relation to India’s Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s budget 2021-22 speech where she had announced a big ticket privatisation agenda, which included two public sector banks and one general insurance company. There are four general insurance companies in the public sector -- National Insurance Company, New India Assurance Company, Oriental Insurance Company and the United India Insurance Company. So what difference will this bill bring? Firstly, this bill will aid the government to sell stakes in some general insurance companies to private sector companies. To put it into perspective, although public sector insurance firms have a bigger market share in the insurance industry, they have a bad financial health which restricts them from offering low cost affordable insurance products. This eventually hinders the growth of insurance penetration in the country. With the private sector getting some control over such companies, they would be able to infuse capital and get things working. United India Insurance posted a net loss of ₹1,485 crore in 2019-20 while National Insurance Company posted a loss of ₹4,100 crore. Lack of capital made it difficult for insurers to expand their reach to unpenetrated regions. India’s insurance penetration stood at 3.76% in FY20, which is much lower against the global average of 7%, as per Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDAI) data. The low insurance penetration data tells that a large section of the country is still uninsured. While the pandemic has already boosted awareness and the importance of having health coverage, the move to <keyword id="11845055" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="privatise-general-insurance">privatise general insurance</keyword> space might improve insurance coverage in the country. SEE ALSO: <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/startups/news/eruditus-is-indias-fourth-edtech-unicorn-valued-at-3-2-billion/articleshow/85267050.cms">Eruditus is India’s fourth edtech unicorn, valued at $3.2 billion</a> <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/startups/news/stellaris-venture-partners-closes-fund-2-to-make-bets-in-existing-portfolio-new-startups/articleshow/85261404.cms">Mamaearth and MFine-backer Stellaris Venture Partners closes second fund to make bigger bets in existing portfolio and up to 30 new startups</a>

New general insurance law will allow the government to privatise some state-owned insurers

<ul><li>Shaktikanta Das told the Times of India that public sector banks have certain social and macro-economic responsibilities and the ongoing consolidation model should be given time.</li><li>‘NBFCs with governance issues will be treated differently with intense regulations.’</li><li>The earlier light-touch approach will have to be suitably modulated in keeping with today’s requirements, Das said on NBFCs.</li></ul> The RBI governor would like to merge and reduce the number of government banks before any talks of selling them off to private players. While Shaktikanta Das said that the decision to privatise banks lies with the government, he also lent voice on the issue. “The questions of privatisation, etc, can be addressed later. Now, we have to focus on the model that has been adopted (of large, consolidated banks),” Das told <a href="https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/business/india-business/privatisation-can-wait-give-time-to-see-results-of-banks-consolidation/articleshow/70322578.cms?UTM_Source=Google_Newsstand&amp;UTM_Campaign=RSS_Feed&amp;UTM_Medium=Referral">Times of India</a>. He added that the public sector banks have certain social and macro-economic responsibilities and the ongoing consolidation model should be given time. India had 21 government banks in 2018 before the mega merger of Vijaya Bank and Dena Bank with Bank of Baroda. In 2017 too, SBI merged with five of its affiliates and Mahila Bank. The government intends to merge banks and create at least four global-sized banks. In the Budget, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman said that they brought down the number of government banks by eight. The government is <a href="https://www.livemint.com/industry/banking/finance-ministry-starts-groundwork-for-fresh-bank-consolidation-1558945007770.html">reportedly considering </a>a fresh round of mergers too. India has a large number of public sector banks after a historic decision by former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi to nationalise 17 private banks, and bring it under the government wing. Curbing a crisis Das intends to keep non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) on a tight leash. A crisis has been unfolding in India’s shadow banks or NBFCs-- the ones that lend money but do not take public deposits-- since the crash of the gigantic IL&amp;FS, which made loans to infrastructure projects. Not only has it caused a cash crunch in the system, but also revealed a lot of dirt in governance in these companies. “The earlier light-touch approach will have to be suitably modulated in keeping with today’s requirements and anticipated developments,” said Das. A few weeks back, in the Budget, Sitharaman armed the RBI with ‘more powers’ to tackle NFBCs and the crisis that has been unfolding over the last many months. With financial stability high on his mind, Shaktikanta Das told the <a href="https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/business/india-business/privatisation-can-wait-give-time-to-see-results-of-banks-consolidation/articleshow/70322578.cms">Times of India </a>that those NBFCs with governance issues will be treated differently with intense regulations. At the same time, he also said that NBFCs in general will be provided liquidity support, as banks have stalled lending to them after IL&amp;FS turned insolvent last year. He however <a href="https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/markets/stocks/news/rbi-in-sync-with-government-efforts-to-accelerate-growth-shaktikanta-das/articleshow/70322831.cms">denied the </a>sector’s request to gain ‘clean, unsecured money’ directly from the regulator. Accomodative stance When asked about a possible cut in base rates yet again, Das said that they have already provided the market with 75 basis points rate cut. Added to that, they have taken an ‘accomodative stance’ which itself implies another 25 basis point rate cut, taking the effective cut to 100 basis points. This, according to him is ‘adequate’ liquidity which is being sent into the system. RBI, under Das’ stewardship is working with the government to ensure growth and ‘accelerate economic expansion’. Its efforts are in sync with that of government to make sure there is credit growth. “I believe in having consultations with all stakeholders and the government is much more than a stakeholder,” he told TOI.

Bank mergers before privatisation is one of three biggest headlines from RBI governor Shaktikanta Das’ interviews

NEW DELHI: Some of the essential services related to banking, transportation, railways and electricity are likely to be impacted during a two-day nationwide strike called by a joint forum of central trade unions beginning Monday. Talking to PTI, All Indian Trade Union Congress General Secretary <keyword id="366518" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="amarjeet-kaur" source="Orion">Amarjeet Kaur</keyword> said, "We are expecting participation of over 20 crore formal and informal workers with mass mobilisation of workers across the country during the strike on March 28 and 29 to protest against government policies." She said that the strike is expected to hit the rural parts also, where informal workers of farming and other sectors will join the protest. The strike notices were given by workers' unions of various sectors such as coal, steel, oil, telecom, postal, income tax, copper, banks and insurance. Unions in railways and defence sector will carry out mass mobilization in support of the strike at several places, the joint forum said. The unions' demands include scrapping of the proposed changes in labour laws, privatisation of any form and the national monetisation pipeline. Increased allocation of wages under MNREGA (<keyword id="1194612" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="mahatma-gandhi-rural-employment-guarantee-act" source="Orion">Mahatma Gandhi Rural Employment Guarantee Act</keyword>) and regularisation of contract workers are also part of their demands. Workers of roadways, transport and electricity departments have also decided to join the strike in spite of the impending threat of ESMA (Essential Services Maintenance Act) which is likely to be imposed in Haryana and Chandigarh, the joint forum said in a statement. Trade unions, including INTUC, AITUC, HMS, CITU, AIUTUC, TUCC, SEWA, AICCTU, LPF and UTUC are part of the joint forum. Meanwhile, the <keyword id="6375040" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="power-ministry" source="Orion">power ministry</keyword> on Sunday advised all the state-run utilities and other agencies to be on high alert and ensure round-the-clock electricity supply and stability of the national grid. "The Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU) have called for a nationwide strike with effect from 06:00 hrs of March 28 to 06:00 hrs of March 30, 2022," an advisory issued by the power ministry said. The advisory has been issued to all states, central public sector undertakings, central electricity authority, national load dispatch centre and regional load dispatch centres. In the interest of the consumers of electricity, it is advised that all the power utilities shall take necessary measures to ensure round-the-clock functioning of the electricity grid and availability of all plants, transmission lines and substations, the ministry said, adding that all regional/state control room executives should be vigilant and on high alert. The ministry also suggested measures to be taken to ensure secure and reliable grid operations. Shutdown activities planned during March 28-29 may be rescheduled to suitable future dates to the extent possible, it said and asked all concerned officials to ensure close supervision of their regional network/control area. Also, manpower may be deployed at all critical sub-stations/power station 24X7 to handle any emergency situation, it said. Power supply to those engaged in essential services such as hospitals, defence, and railways must be ensured, it added and suggested setting up of a 24x7 control room for information dissemination and handling any kind of contingency. Bank employees' unions said they will support the strike. All <keyword id="3658" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="India" source="Orion">India</keyword> Bank Employees' Association (AIBEA) General Secretary C H Venkatachalam said the union demands the government to stop privatisation of public sector banks and strengthen them. Bank employees also demand speedy recovey of bad loans, higher deposit rates by banks, lower service charges on customers as well as restoration of old pension scheme for staff. A number of public sector banks, including country's largest lender SBI, have said that their services may get impacted to a limited extent due to the strike. SBI said it has made necessary arrangements to ensure normal functioning in its branches and offices during the strike. "It is likely that work at our bank may be impacted, to a limited extent, by the strike," SBI said. New Delhi-headquartered Punjab National Bank (<keyword id="13478968" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="pnb" source="Orion" meta.marketcap="38923.93999753" meta.tagname="Punjab National Bank" meta.tagpopularcount="0" meta.sectorid="15" meta.entitytype="company" meta.matchtype="exact" meta.aum="0" meta.entityid="11585" meta.tagseoname="punjab-national-bank" meta.sector="Banks" meta.tagnameorg="Punjab National Bank">PNB</keyword>) said, AIBEA, Bank Employees Federation of India (BEFI) and All India Bank Officers' Association (AIBOA) have served notices to go on strike on March 28-29. "While bank has made all arrangements to ensure normal functioning in its branches and offices, it is likely that work in our bank may be impacted to a limited extent by the strike," PNB said. Bengaluru-based <keyword id="13478969" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="canara-bank" source="Orion" meta.marketcap="40836.07197252" meta.tagname="Canara Bank" meta.tagpopularcount="0" meta.sectorid="15" meta.entitytype="company" meta.matchtype="exact" meta.aum="0" meta.entityid="9218" meta.tagseoname="canara-bank" meta.sector="Banks" meta.tagnameorg="Canara Bank">Canara Bank</keyword> said it is taking all necessary steps to ensure smooth functioning of bank branches and offices. However, the functioning of the bank may be impacted, Canara Bank added. Private lender <keyword id="2179992" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="rbl-bank" source="Orion">RBL Bank</keyword> said its bank unions are affiliated to AIBOA and AIBEA, and the employees associated with these unions may participate in the strike. "The bank will take all necessary steps for smooth functioning of the bank's branches/offices on the days of strike. However, it is likely that some of our branches would also be impacted by the strike," <keyword id="13478967" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="rbl" source="Orion" meta.marketcap="491.27195140500004" meta.tagname="Rane Brake Lining Ltd" meta.tagpopularcount="0" meta.sectorid="506" meta.entitytype="company" meta.matchtype="exact" meta.aum="0" meta.entityid="21601" meta.tagseoname="rane-brake-lining-ltd" meta.sector="Auto Ancillaries" meta.tagnameorg="Rane Brake Lining Ltd.">RBL</keyword> said. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/news/pvr-and-inox-leisure-announce-merger/articleshow/90476756.cms">PVR and INOX Leisure announce merger</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/startups/news/how-this-former-vedantu-cofounder-is-taking-on-instagram-and-snapchat-to-build-social-media-for-teens/articleshow/90443442.cms">How this former Vedantu cofounder is taking on Instagram and Snapchat to build social media for teens</a>

Two-day Bharat Bandh: Essential services likely to be affected

Two aborted missions, three different ministers, multiple rule changes and two decades later, Indian taxpayers will no longer have to pay ₹20 crore per day to keep the loss-making <keyword id="2573" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="air-india" source="Orion">Air India</keyword> flying. While opposition Congress expectedly attacked the decision as selling the family silver, DIPAM Secretary Tuhin Kanta Pandey said what Tata is getting is not a cash cow but an airline which is bleeding where money needs to be pumped in to refurbish obsolete aircraft and dust up strangled ones while being unable to touch any employee for one year and only be able to resize staff after paying a VRS. "It won't be a very easy task there. Only advantage is they (new Air <keyword id="3658" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="india" source="Orion">India</keyword> owner) are paying the price which they think they can manage. They are not taking the excessive debt accumulated to fund years of losses. We are continuing it as an ongoing concern.... This process has also saved huge amount of taxpayers money going forward," Pandey told PTI. Earlier this month, the government had accepted an offer by Talace Pvt Ltd, a unit of the holding company of salt-to-software conglomerate Tata group, to pay ₹2,700 crore cash and takeover ₹15,300 crore of the airline's debt. As on August 31, Air India had a total debt of ₹61,562 crore. About 75 per cent of this debt or ₹46,262 crore will be transferred to a special purpose vehicle AIAHL before handing over the loss-making airline to the Tata Group. <keyword id="6360721" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="tatas" source="Orion">Tatas</keyword> would not get to retain non-core assets such as the Vasant Vihar Housing colony of Air India, Air India Building at Nariman Point in Mumbai, and Air India Building in New Delhi. "We have only allowed (Tata group) for use for two years, but within two years we have to work out a monetisation plan for it to be sold so that the money can be used to set off AIAHL liabilities," Pandey said. Of the 141 Air India aircraft that Tatas would get, 42 are leased planes while the remaining 99 are owned. Tata will also take over the capitalised lease liability on account of operating leases of Rs 9,185 crore. Besides, some of these 141 planes are grounded due to lack of engine and other maintenance. Also the obsolescence factor is there are many as not fuel efficient. "We want to finish the handover quickly, because we are paying Rs 20 cr /day to run the airline. The new owner will need to put in a lot of capital because they have to do capital expenditure to improve aircraft, refurbish and give new orders for obsolete aircraft. Only then they may be able to turnaround. Also conditions have been put that you cannot resize employees for 1 year, and thereafter in the second year, you have to give VRS," Pandey said. The government is divesting its 100 per cent ownership of Air India and Air India Express along with its 50 per cent stake in ground-handling company AISATS. The government will, however, transfer about Rs 16,000 crore of unpaid current liabilities, in excess of current and non current assets, such as fuel bills and other pending dues that Air India owes to suppliers, to Air India Assets Holding Ltd (AIAHL). A Letter of Intent (LoI) has been issued to Tatas on October 11 confirming the government's willingness to sell its 100 per cent stake in the airline. Tatas have now to accept the LoI, post which the Share Purchase Agreement (SPA) will be signed. Conditions precedent to the transactions would need to be satisfied by Tatas before they actually can take over the operations. Normally within 14 days of acceptance of LOI, the SPA is signed. While this will be the first privatisation since 2003-04, Air India will be the third airline brand in the Tatas' stable - it holds a majority interest in AirAsia India and Vistara, a joint venture with Singapore Airlines Ltd. Air India will give it access to a fleet of 117 wide-body and narrow-body aircraft and Air India Express Ltd another 24 narrow-body aircraft besides control of 4,400 domestic and 1,800 international landing and parking slots at domestic airports, as well as 900 slots at airports overseas such as London's Heathrow. Tatas beat the ₹15,100-crore offer by a consortium led by SpiceJet promoter Ajay Singh and the reserve price of ₹12,906 crore set by the government for the sale of its 100 per cent stake in the loss-making carrier. Air India was first put on the block under the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government when the newly created disinvestment ministry led by <keyword id="47167" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="arun-shourie" source="Orion">Arun Shourie</keyword> offered 40 per cent of the government stake in the airline for sale. Foreign airlines, including Lufthansa, Swissair, Air France-Delta, British Airways, Emirates and Singapore Airlines (SIA) expressed interest in buying the airline but they pulled out after the government-mandated taking a local partner. Among the two domestic majors in fray, Hindujas, who were embroiled in the Bofors scam, was disqualified while Tata's partner, SIA, pulled out citing 'adverse climate and opposition to privatisation'. The privatisation plan was revived under Finance Minister <keyword id="42575" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="arun-jaitley" source="Orion">Arun Jaitley</keyword> in 2017 when the government offered for sale 74 per cent in the airline. But the decision of the government to hold 26 per cent in the airline and auction rules saw no bidder turning up. With 4 years of uncertainty over privatisation, Air India struggled with dipping employee morale and rising inefficiencies within the organisation. When <keyword id="6354642" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="modi" source="Orion">Modi</keyword> took over with a decisive mandate for the second time, Air India privatisation was revived in 2020, under current Finance Minister <keyword id="129243" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="nirmala-sitharaman" source="Orion">Nirmala Sitharaman</keyword>, with an offer to completely sell a 100 per cent stake. A new decision-making mechanism was worked out. The government sweetened the deal for Air India buyers, giving them flexibility to decide on the amount of Air India debt they want to absorb. The bids were invited on the enterprise value of the company, which includes debt as well as cash on the company's balance sheet. Air India started suffering losses every year since its merger with Indian Airlines in 2007-08. A Turnaround Plan (TAP) as well as a Financial Restructuring Plan (FRP) were approved for Air India by the previous UPA regime in 2012. However, the TAP did not work out and Air India continued to reel under losses with the government giving Rs 20 crore/day to keep the airline afloat. SEE ALSO: <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/stock-market/news/hdfc-bank-avenue-supermarts-hcl-tech-and-other-stocks-to-watch-out-for-on-october-18/slidelist/87098001.cms">HDFC Bank, Avenue Supermarts, HCL Tech and other stocks to watch out for on October 18</a>

'We want to finish the handover quickly, because we are paying ₹20 crore a day to run the airline,' says DIPAM Secretary on privatisation of Air India

Chartered Accountant and Editor of Tamil political magazine 'Thuglak' S. Gurumurthy said he was pressurised to take up the board position in the <keyword id="6354335" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="reserve-bank-of-india" source="Orion">Reserve Bank of India</keyword> (<keyword id="30067" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="rbi" source="Orion">RBI</keyword>). Gurumurthy told this in an email to the All India Bank Employees Association (AIBEA) General Secretary C.H. <keyword id="215998" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="venkatachalam" source="Orion">Venkatachalam</keyword> and also dared the latter to share the mail with the <keyword id="6357801" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="union" source="Orion">Union</keyword> members. As a post script in his email, Gurumurthy told Venkatachalam: "You all think that me being in the <keyword id="370514" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="rbi-board" source="Orion">RBI Board</keyword> is a big thing. I was pressurised to take up that position as there were not many to put a counter view in the RBI Board." "I did not need it nor did I seek it. For decades I had never taken any position in or from the government. Nor will I ever." "Me, in the RBI Board, was criticised by the Financial media in the West, and I am happy you a communist share their views now," Gurumurthy added. Continuing further. Gurumurthy said he had never allowed anyone in any public fora to state that he is on the RBI Board in the introductory remarks. "You have expressed grave concern about me being on the RBI Board. You may not know that if I am not on the RBI Board it makes very little difference to me," Gurumurthy said. Gurumurthy wrote to Venkatachalam in response to the latter's message in social media condemning him for his comments at Thuglak magazine's annual function about the public sector bankers. Speaking at the Thuglak magazine's annual function, Gurumurthy had said the public sector banks are losing talented officials to the private sector owing to poor pay and lack of freedom. "Only scums and filth are remaining with public sector banks and with them, the country has to compete globally in the financial sector," he had said. Gurumurthy also said that till the government has majority stakes in its banks, it is not possible to encourage talented staff. Reacting to that Venkatachalam said: "We strongly condemn his uncalled for comments and demand his immediate apology. He is unfit to be on the Board of RBI and the government should remove him from this important post." Gurumurthy in his email to Venkatachalam said: "I would not have written if I had not known you and you had not invited me for the AIBEA workshop. Your post has started a campaign against me." Stating that many campaigns were made against him earlier Gurumurthy said: "I have never bothered about the campaigns against me by any, as I don't belong to any party, nor seek or need anyone's courtesy, by the grace of the Divine I believe in. So this is not to answer any campaign." "I have always opposed and will continue to oppose privatisation as I believe with all faults majority bank assets in India have to be in state hands. The Indian economy will be ruined if the major part of the financial sector falls into private hands with the expansion and contraction of the <keyword id="6355302" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="rupee" source="Orion">Rupee</keyword> dependent on the Dollar," Gurumurthy said. "I resisted within RBI all efforts to pressure the government to privatise when the previous RBI governors were in command," he added. As regards his speech at the Thuglak magazine's function Gurumurthy said the UPA government's policies of letting huge FII investments into the stock market led to indigestible money in the system. To lend that money the government brought down the customs tariffs to zero for capital goods to attract the industrialists to borrow from banks. Gurumurthy said the government persuaded the industry to go for huge expansions in the hope that India would turn into a high growth export driven economy. According to Gurumurthy, the huge recession that followed 2008-09 made the investments of several lakhs of crore junk and the monies lent, NPA (non performing asset) and which was also later accepted by former Governor of RBI Raghuram Rajan. "That is where the woes of the PSBs (public sector bank) started. Not a single political party, including the BJP and CPI-M or the bank unions spoke the truth about the source of the NPA trouble. The guilty finance ministry officials who ran telbanking were mixed up with both the UPA and NDA governments, to suppress the truth," Gurumurthy said. Continuing further he said, the NPA issue, action against it by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), Central Vigilance Commission (CVC), the prudential norms completely shook the bank officers. "This gave a huge opportunity to the private banks and funds which had a heyday because the best loan accounts shifted to them. They began giving high salaries and attracting capable PSB officers," Gurumurthy said. As a result, several capable officials left the PSBs and he had termed the remaining officials as 'kazhisadai' meaning leftovers or those who could not pass through the filter, remained inside. "It is a fact and I stand by it," Gurumurthy said. Referring to the decline in share of PSB loans in the total banking sector loans Gurumurthy said: "At this rate the PSBs need not be privatised. They will get so marginalised that they will handle only the government and municipal accounts and all corporate accounts will be taken over by private banks. That we are not having and not generating and training the needed talent in the PSBs to handle 60 per cent of national savings that gets into the PSB is indisputable. It is a matter of concern for all -- government included," he said. "If you are a responsible trade unionist you will be concerned, talk about this and not play petty politics. I wrote this because you had invited me to talk to AIBEA and you know our views converge on PSBs in many ways," Gurumurthy told Venkatachalam and also asked whether he has the guts to circulate his mail to AIBEA members. "I will not make this public unless you do it. If you do it, have the courage to publish it in full," Gurumurthy said. SEE ALSO: <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/politics/india/news/rising-dengue-cases-in-uttar-pradesh-put-health-officials-on-high-alert/articleshow/91611067.cms">Rising dengue cases in Uttar Pradesh put health officials on high alert</a> <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/international/news/four-in-ten-american-users-thought-that-facebook-should-have-blocked-trump-sooner-reveal-leaked-internal-documents/articleshow/91610652.cms">Four in ten American users thought that Facebook should have blocked Trump sooner, reveal leaked internal documents</a>

Tamil magazine editor S. Gurumurthy 'pressurised' to take up RBI Board position

<ul><li>It seems that Indians are losing interest in using <keyword id="6403406" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="coins">coins</keyword> - not only because of their weight but also the move towards cashless transactions. </li><li>Amid an oversupply of coins, <keyword id="6388684" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="storage">storage</keyword> costs are getting unfeasible as the <keyword id="30067" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="RBI">RBI</keyword> is running out of space to keep them. </li><li>As a result, the RBI is looking to outsource the distribution of coins to a private player and even export base coins to countries like Brazil and Sri Lanka. </li></ul>It seems that Indians are losing interest in using coins - not only because of their weight but also the move towards cashless transactions - leaving the Reserve Bank of India with a significant storage and distribution problem. Banks around the country are also reluctant <a href="https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/coin-problem-hits-depositors-in-several-states/story-gbFII8zmCg1QK5BipvNdrN.html">to accept coins</a> owing to the fact that they have to allocate personnel to count them, as opposed to money counting machines for notes. India’s central bank reportedly has more coins than it knows what to do with - around 9 billion coins as of late 2018 - according to the <a href="https://indianexpress.com/article/business/banking-and-finance/to-end-the-glut-of-coins-govt-mulls-privatisation-of-distribution-exports-5674569/">Indian Express,</a> and storage costs are getting unfeasible as the RBI is running out of space to keep them. Interestingly, the available space for coins fell significantly as the RBI started accumulating <a href="https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/industry/banking/finance/banking/coin-production-hit-by-storage-problem-as-demonetised-notes-fill-rbi-vaults/articleshow/62452740.cms?from=mdr">demonetised notes</a>. As a result of the storage crunch, the RBI is looking to outsource the distribution of coins to a private player and even export base coins to countries like Brazil and Sri Lanka. As far as <keyword id="6369532" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Privatisation">privatisation</keyword> of distribution goes, the government is reportedly assessing ways to increase the usage of coins in India and companies that can make the transportation and distribution of coins more cost-efficient. The central bank is also dramatically reducing the number of coins it orders from the Security Printing &amp; Minting Corporation of India Ltd (SPMCIL), a state-owned mint. It has only ordered 3.4 billion coins, which is reportedly <a href="https://indianexpress.com/article/business/banking-and-finance/to-end-the-glut-of-coins-govt-mulls-privatisation-of-distribution-exports-5674569/">a third </a>of the SPMCIL’s production capacity. Somewhat contradictorily, last month the government announced the introduction <a href="https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/business/india-business/government-announces-new-rs-20-coin-things-to-know/articleshow/68298122.cms">of a ₹20 coin</a>, a full ten years after the ₹10 coin was released. The 12-edged coin will likely be expensive to produce. While the RBI has traditionally encouraged the use of coins instead of small-value bank notes owing to the durability of coins, it’s reduced order from SPMCIL shows that it is changing with the times. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/heres-why-the-rbi-bought-gold-for-the-first-time-since-2009/articleshow/65669182.cms">Here’s why the RBI bought gold for the first time since 2009</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/indias-central-bank-just-gave-the-countrys-small-businesses-a-one-time-breather-from-some-of-their-bad-loans-but-with-a-few-conditions/articleshow/67346902.cms">India’s central bank just gave the country’s small businesses a one-time breather from some of their bad loans — but with a few conditions</a>

You Searched For "Privatisation of Banks" and got 8 results

Finance Ministry to stick to privatisation of already announced CPSEs next fiscal

PTI

Airtel, SBI, Central Bank of India, IOB and other stocks to watch out for on June 22

Rounak Jain

New general insurance law will allow the government to privatise some state-owned insurers

Bhakti Makwana

Bank mergers before privatisation is one of three biggest headlines from RBI governor Shaktikanta Das’ interviews

Katya Naidu

Two-day Bharat Bandh: Essential services likely to be affected

PTI

'We want to finish the handover quickly, because we are paying ₹20 crore a day to run the airline,' says DIPAM Secretary on privatisation of Air India

PTI

Tamil magazine editor S. Gurumurthy 'pressurised' to take up RBI Board position

IANS

The RBI has a coin distribution problem - and it might be thinking about outsourcing the job to someone else

Dilsher Dhillon

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