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Mumbai, <keyword id="7340328" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="reserve-bank-governor-shaktikanta-das" source="Orion">Reserve Bank Governor Shaktikanta Das</keyword> on Monday said the central bank has noticed "excessive dominance" by one or two board members even in "big commercial banks" and asked the lenders to desist from such practices. Board discussions have to be free, fair and democratic, Das said, addressing directors of <keyword id="117575" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="urban-cooperative-banks" source="Orion">Urban Cooperative Banks</keyword> (UCBs) at a meeting organised by the <keyword id="6354335" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="reserve-bank-of-india" source="Orion">Reserve Bank of India</keyword> (RBI) here. "There should not be an over-dominance or excessive dominance by one or two members of the board, or the chairman or the vice-chairman. We have seen this even in big commercial banks... wherever we have seen this, we have told the bank that this is not the way," he said. He said all directors need to be given a chance to speak and a particular director's say should not be the final one on a matter. The governor, who made the point while illustrating the importance of a well-functioning board, however, did not elaborate further. In the past, the Indian banking system has witnessed problems at the promoter-led YES Bank, which had to be bailed out in an SBI-led initiative, which was supported by the RBI and the government. YES Bank Co-Founder Rana Kapoor, who was also its Chief Executive and Managing Director, was arrested in connection with the irregularities at the bank. Earlier this month, Uday Kotak, the Chief Executive and Managing Director of Kotak Mahindra Bank, resigned from his post and will continue as a non-executive board member. Das said directors in UCBs -- who are elected to the post -- need to have expertise in various aspects of banking, such as risk management, information technology, etc. He urged directors to go through agenda notes, which are prepared in advance, and ask relevant questions. While a managing director should have the freedom to act as per what she or he feels right, it is also important for directors to get their doubts clarified, Das added.

RBI found excessive dominance by 1-2 board members even in big commercial banks: Das

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

Mumbai, RBI Governor <keyword id="6359111" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="shaktikanta-das" source="Orion">Shaktikanta Das</keyword> on Monday said the central bank is "not comfortable" with the gross non-performing assets ratio of 8.7 per cent in urban cooperative banks (UCBs) and asked them to work towards improving the same. Addressing directors of UCBs in the financial capital at an RBI-organised conference, Das urged that such lenders should improve the governance standards, avoid related-party transactions and focus on credit risks, among others. It can be noted that the UCB sector has been fraught with multiple challenges and also witnessed difficult times in the recent past, like the implosion of the city-headquartered Punjab and Maharashtra Bank. Das reminded the directors of the UCBs that banks run on depositors and added that protection of the hard-earned money pooled in from the middle class, poor and retirees is far more sacred than going to a temple or a gurdwara. While the overall picture at an aggregate level looks nice, the situation on GNPAs and capital adequacy is "not at all satisfactory", Das said. He said the overall GNPAs have improved to 8.7 per cent, which is "not a good number. It is not a comfortable number even at an aggregate level". Scheduled commercial banks' GNPAs stood at a decadal best level of 3.9 per cent in March 2023 and are widely estimated to improve further. To manage the scourge of <keyword id="127693" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="npas" source="Orion">NPAs</keyword> better, Das suggested that there should be a focus on credit risk management with better underwriting. He said the RBI has come across instances of conflicts of interest or related party transactions, which need to be avoided. Similarly, there have been instances of many of the top defaulters being individuals or businesses having the ability to pay, Das said. The top 20 defaulters account for over 60 per cent of the loan overdue, and focusing on this segment can help improve the overall NPAs, he added. On the capital adequacy front, he noted that there has been an improvement in the ratios to 16.6 per cent at the end of FY23 from 15.5 per cent a year ago. Making it clear that he wants to share the RBI's concerns with the lenders, Das exhorted the UCBs to focus on the quality of governance by paying attention to compliance, risk management and internal audit. He said the RBI has come across instances where there is only "paper compliance" and no compliance is observed when an on-field inspection takes place, Das said, adding that the internal audit function also requires focus. The governor asked bank management to present a risk analysis report to the board on a quarterly basis, rather than making it into an annual effort. It is also necessary for the directors - who are elected and not appointed based on their skill sets, unlike the SCBs - to understand the financial sector, credit risk, banking, information technology and risk management, Das said. The <keyword id="6354335" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="reserve-bank-of-india" source="Orion">Reserve Bank of India</keyword> has prescribed a board of management to help the elected board members with professional help in running a bank, and the same should not be seen as an impediment, he added. Stressing that the board discussions should be free and fair, Das said it is important to have any dominance of one or two persons in the decision-making. "There should be free, frank and democratic discussions. Board members should be encouraged to ask whatever questions they have on their mind," he said. Das also expressed the RBI's discomfort with board committees like those handling important functions, such as audit and risk not meeting regularly, stating that it has come across instances where such meetings are not held for months or even multiple years. He also asked UCBs to monitor asset-liability mismatches, follow transparent accounting practices and recruit people based on requirements and ability to spend. On the technology front, he said the RBI has found that the quality of the core banking solution is not at all satisfactory in some banks, and the treasury operations are not getting reflected in the CBS. Going ahead, the UCB segment will be facing competition from tech-savvy entities like digital lenders, fintechs, non-bank lenders and micro-lenders, and hence, need to focus more on technology, Das said. The governor said the UCB sector - built to serve as the neighbourhood bank - is "doing well" from an overall perspective, and also made it clear that the RBI is fine with some of the entities in the sector growing big.

Not comfortable with NPAs in urban co-op banks says RBI, asks lenders to focus on governance

<ul><li>The Central Board of Employees' <keyword id="45028" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="provident-fund" source="Orion">Provident Fund</keyword> Organisation (<keyword id="6372438" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="epfo" source="Orion">EPFO</keyword>) has recommended an 8.15% interest rate to be credited on provident funds for the financial year 2022-23.</li><li>In March 2022, the government declared an 8.1% interest rate for more than its six crore members, which was the lowest since 1977-78.</li><li>The recommendation involves the distribution of more than ₹90,000 crore in the members' account on the total principal amount of about ₹11 lakh crore.</li></ul>The Central Board of Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) has recommended an 8.15 per cent interest rate to be credited on provident funds for the financial year 2022-23. In March 2022, the government declared an 8.1 per cent interest rate for more than its six crore members, which was the lowest since 1977-78. The recommended interest rate for 2022-23 would be officially notified in the government gazette after approval of the Ministry of Finance, following which EPFO would credit the rate of interest into its subscribers' accounts. The recommendation involves the distribution of more than Rs 90,000 crore in the members' account on the total principal amount of about Rs 11 lakh crore. In 2021-22, the payment outgo and principal amounts were Rs 77,425 crore and Rs 9.56 lakh crore, respectively. "The total income recommended for being distributed is the highest to date. The growth in income and the principal amount is respectively more than 16 per cent and 15 per cent as compared to the last financial year 2021-22," the Ministry of Labour and Employment said in a release on Tuesday. EPFO is a social security organization responsible for providing social security benefits in the form of Provident, Pension and Insurance Funds to the organized workforce of the country. Separately, the provisional payroll data showed a total of 14.86 lakh net members were added in the month of January 2023. Out of the total members added during the month, around 7.77 lakh new members have come under the ambit of EPFO for the first time. Among the newly joined members, the highest enrolment is registered in the age group of 18-21 years with 2.26 lakh members, followed by the age group of 22-25 years with 2.06 lakh members. The age groups of 18-25 years constitute 55.52 per cent of the total of new members during the month of January. For the month of January 2023, it said 3.54 lakh members have exited the fold of EPFO. This is the lowest exit in the last four months. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/news/top-chatgpt-4-plugins-from-math-physics-and-language-tutor-to-vacation-planner/articleshow/99036667.cms">Top ChatGPT 4 plugins: From math, physics and language tutor to vacation planner</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/finance/banks/news/rbis-mpc-could-pause-rate-hikes-in-april-to-gauge-the-impact-of-hikes-so-far-sbi-research/articleshow/99030220.cms">RBI’s MPC could pause rate hikes in April to gauge the impact of hikes so far: SBI Research</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/corporates/news/layoffs-coming-to-the-indian-it-sector-analysts-say-accentures-jobs-cuts-offers-a-blueprint/articleshow/98970175.cms">Layoffs coming to the Indian IT sector? Analysts say Accenture’s jobs cuts offers a ‘blueprint’</a>

Employees' provident fund interest rate fixed at 8.15% for 2022-23

Mumbai, Jan 29 () The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Wednesday appointed its Executive Director Janak Raj as member of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC), the highest interest rate setting body.
 Raj replaces M D Patra, who was recently elevated as Deputy Governor of the RBI.
 The decision to appoint Janak Raj was taken at the 581st meeting of the central board here on Wednesday.
 "The Board nominated Dr Janak Raj, Executive Director on the Monetary Policy Committee as an ex officio member," the RBI said in a statement.
 The government had in 2016 constituted MPC to set the benchmark interest rate.
 The MPC is headed by the RBI Governor. Of the six members, three are nominated by the government, while the remaining three are from the RBI (including the Governor).
 The Monetary Policy Committee takes decisions based on majority vote. Each member has one vote but the RBI Governor get a casting vote in case of a tie. DP ABM

RBI appoints ED Janak Raj as member of MPC

Mumbai, Dec 31 () The Reserve Bank on Tuesday asked all urban cooperative banks (UCBs) with deposits of over Rs 100 crore to constitute a Board of Management (BoM) comprising experts to oversee their functioning.
The decision assumes significance against the backdrop of a scam at Punjab and Maharashtra Cooperative Bank leading to hardships to over 9 lakh depositors.
Under the present legal framework, the Board of Directors of a UCB perform both the executive and supervisory roles and has the responsibility to oversee the functioning of UCB as a co-operative society as well as its functions as a bank. 
"Since UCBs are accepting public deposits, it is imperative that a separate mechanism be put in place to protect the interests of depositors," the RBI said.
As per the guidelines on BoM: "There shall be a Board of Management (BoM) in every UCB with deposit size of Rs 100 crore and above in addition to the Board of Directors". 
The BoM will be constituted by the Board of Directors (BoD) of the UCBs concerned within one year, it added. 
 The BoM (excluding CEO) will have a minimum of five members and maximum of 12. The CEO would be a non-voting member.
"The BoM shall exercise oversight over the banking related functions of the UCBs, assist the BoD on formulation of the policy and any other related matters specifically delegated to it by the Board for proper functioning of the bank," the RBI said. 
 As per the guidelines, RBI will have powers to remove any member of BoM and/ or the CEO if the person is found to be not meeting the criteria prescribed by it or acting in a manner detrimental to the interests of the bank or its depositors or both.
 Following the exposure of scam in the PMC Bank, which had over 9.15 lakh depositors, the RBI imposed restrictions on withdrawals.
 Statutory inspection of PMC by the RBI had revealed large group exposure of about Rs 6,226.01 crore to Housing Development and Infrastructure Ltd (HDIL) Group companies.
 Of the total exposure to the HDIL group, only Rs 439.58 crore was disclosed to the RBI while Rs 5,786.43 crore remained undisclosed. 
 Meanwhile, the RBI has issued a comprehensive cyber security framework for UCBs. 
 The framework for UCBs has been formulated based on a graded approach. 
They have been categorised into four levels based on their digital depth and interconnectedness to the payment systems landscape. NKD CS MR
MR

RBI asks large UCBs to constitute Board of Management

Mumbai, Jan 21 () The RBI has started making public minutes of its board meetings as part of its exercise to enhance transparency regarding its functioning and also to obviate the need of asking for such details under the Right to Information Act (RTI Act), the central bank said.
To begin with, the central bank shared the minutes of meeting of its Central Board of Directors held in Chandigarh in October last year, though it blacked out certain portions.
 In a statement, the RBI said it has been, over the years, taking steps to enhance transparency with regard to its functioning. 
"The minutes of the meetings of the RBI's Central Board of Directors (Central Board) have evinced considerable public interest and some of these have been shared with persons who sought them under the Right to Information Act 2005 (RTI Act)," it said. 
As a measure of further enhancing public awareness, the RBI said it has been decided to place the minutes of the meetings of the Central Board on the RBI's website as per the RTI Act, "after appropriately severing information that is permitted to be severed as per the Act". 
It further that in future, the minutes will be placed on the website within two weeks from the date of its confirmation in the next meeting of the Central Board and on being signed by the chairman in the same meeting.
As per the minutes of October meeting chaired by Governor Shaktikanta Das, the Board discussed in detail the situation in the financial sector with special focus on the regulatory and supervisory architecture of commercial and cooperative banks as also NBFCs.
The 579th meeting the Board took up a host of issues, including sitting fees payable to directors of the board and members of the local RBI boards. NKD CS MR
MR

RBI starts making public minutes of its board meetings

Mumbai, Mar 20 () The RBI on Friday appointed two additional directors on the board of Yes Bank -- former deputy governor of the central bank R Gandhi and Ananth Narayan, an associate professor at SP Jain Institute of Management and Research. The appointment, effective March 26, will be for two years, the Reserve Bank said in a statement which comes a day after the private sector bank resumed full operations. March 26 is the day when the new management will take over after the administrator's term ends. Under the reconstruction scheme, which came into effect from March 14, RBI can appoint one or more persons as additional directors on the board of Yes Bank. On March 5, the RBI had superseded the board of Yes Bank and appointed Prashant Kumar, ex-DMD and CFO of SBI, as the administrator. The RBI-imposed moratorium was lifted on March 18. Kumar will take over as the CEO and managing director of the bank from March 26, seven days from the cessation of moratorium. The new board will be led by Sunil Mehta as the non-executive chairman and Mahesh Krishnamurthy and Atul Bheda as non-executive directors. SBI, being the single largest shareholder with almost 43 per cent stake, will have two board members -- deputy managing directors Partha Sengupta, who is also the chief credit officer at SBI, and G Swaminathan. HV BEN ABMABM

RBI appoints R Gandhi, Ananth Narayan as additional directors on Yes Bank board

New Delhi, Feb 15 () The Reserve Bank board on Saturday recommended aligning the central bank's accounting year, beginning July, with the financial year from 2020-21, an official statement said. The Central Board of Directors of the RBI at its 582nd meeting reviewed the current economic situation, global and domestic challenges and various areas of operations of the Reserve Bank. The board recommended aligning the financial year of RBI, currently July-June, with the government's fiscal year (April-March) from the year 2020-21. It approved forwarding a proposal to the government for its consideration, the RBI said in the statement. Addressing the board meeting, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman outlined the thinking behind the Union Budget 2020-21 and the focus areas of the government. She indicated increased complementarity in policy between the RBI and the government to address growth concerns, the statement said. Complimenting the finance minister on the Budget, the board members made various suggestions for consideration of the government, it added. The finance minister was accompanied by Minister of State for Finance Anurag Singh Thakur, Finance Secretary Rajiv Kumar and Expenditure Secretary T V Somanathan, among other senior officials. DP ABMABM

RBI board recommends aligning accounting year with fiscal year from 2020-21

<a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/DoYou-Need-Aadhaar-Card-Govt-Says-Yes-Supreme-Court-Says-No/articleshow/22981267.cms">Controversy</a> is still raging over the mandatory use of <keyword id="144117" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="AADHAAR">Aadhaar</keyword>, but an expert <keyword id="2006823" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Committee-on-financial-inclusion">committee on financial inclusion</keyword> has already recommended that the <keyword id="6354335" type="CITY" weightage="100" keywordseo="reserve-bank-of-india">Reserve Bank of India</keyword> should leverage the <keyword id="2006820" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Aadhaar-network">Aadhaar network</keyword> to ensure that every Indian has a <keyword id="2006817" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Free-bank-account">free bank account</keyword> by January 2016. The recommendation has come from the Committee on Comprehensive <keyword id="2006821" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Financial-Services-for-Small-Business">Financial Services for Small Business</keyword> and Low-Income Households, which is headed by <keyword id="311391" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Nachiket-Mor">Nachiket Mor</keyword>, an <keyword id="2006825" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="RBI-board-member">RBI board member</keyword> and former <keyword id="6653" type="CITY" weightage="100" keywordseo="ICICI-bank">ICICI Bank</keyword> executive. 
 <keyword id="30067" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="RBI">RBI</keyword> set up the committee last September and it has now sought comments from the public on the <keyword id="1180163" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="draft-recommendations">draft recommendations</keyword> on or before January 24, 2014. Other key members of the panel include former <keyword id="44473" type="CITY" weightage="80" keywordseo="Citigroup">Citigroup</keyword> CEO <keyword id="25396" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Vikram-Pandit">Vikram Pandit</keyword> and <keyword id="2006826" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Axis-Bank-CMD">Axis Bank CMD</keyword> <keyword id="6356453" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Shikha-Sharma">Shikha Sharma</keyword>. 
 According to the report, every Indian resident over 18 years of age should be automatically issued a “universal <keyword id="2006829" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Electronic-bank-account">electronic bank account</keyword> at the time of receiving his/her <keyword id="485058" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Aadhaar-number">Aadhaar number</keyword>.” One can choose his/her <keyword id="2006832" type="COMPANY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Preferred-bank">preferred bank</keyword> from the empanelled ones and need not pay any fee for opening an account. However, the bank can levy <keyword id="162862" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="transaction-charges">transaction charges</keyword>, the committee says. It also recommends setting up of a ‘unified’ redressal agency under the <keyword id="47209" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="Finance-Ministry">finance ministry</keyword> to deal with <keyword id="786199" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="customer-complaints">customer complaints</keyword>. 
 About 90% of small businesses have no links to a <keyword id="154831" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="financial-institution">financial institution</keyword> and 60% of Indians do not have bank accounts, the report states. “Aadhaar is the key piece of infrastructure to enable a customer to be identified and authenticated so that repudiation and fraud risks are minimised and therefore, should become the universal basis for authentication,” it adds. 
 The panel has also suggested that a special type of <keyword id="6368751" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Banks">banks</keyword> should be introduced to provide payment services and deposit products to small businesses and low-income households. Such banks could be categorised as <keyword id="2006841" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Payments-banks">payments banks</keyword> and “they will be restricted to holding a <keyword id="2006842" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Maximum-balance">maximum balance</keyword> of Rs 50,000 per customer,” the report says. Even <keyword id="2006844" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Existing-lenders">existing lenders</keyword> can set up these payments banks as <keyword id="4128451" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="subsidiaries">subsidiaries</keyword>. The report also recommends setting up another category of wholesale banks that will provide funds to other banks and financial institutions that directly lend to low-income households. 
 On the face of it, the recommendations to introduce a multi-layered <keyword id="6354778" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="Banking">banking</keyword> system make sound sense as these ‘proposed’ entities will be serving the <keyword id="2006855" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Financially-weak">financially weak</keyword> segment of the country and overall, the inclusion plan for 2013-2016 looks good. 
 
Except for the Aadhaar part. 
 But before we go ahead, let us have a look at Aadhaar and what all it offers. Launched by the <keyword id="86474" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="Unique-Identification-Authority-of-India">Unique Identification Authority of India</keyword> (<keyword id="6355252" type="CITY" weightage="100" keywordseo="UIDAI">UIDAI</keyword>), the <keyword id="804646" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Aadhaar-scheme">Aadhaar scheme</keyword> was initially introduced to ‘promote inclusion and benefits of the <keyword id="1389586" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="marginalised-sections">marginalised sections</keyword> of the society that has no <keyword id="2006861" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Formal-identity-proof">formal identity proof</keyword>.’ Even today, Aadhaar-enabled services are essentially linked to various <keyword id="580043" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="government-welfare-schemes">government welfare schemes</keyword> – so that its beneficiaries can access the same in a hassle-free manner. 
 However, the ‘<keyword id="2006816" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Banking-for-all">banking for all</keyword>’ initiative in its ‘suggested’ format cannot be a marginalised movement, aimed to serve only the under-banked/unbanked regions or the weaker section or those below the <keyword id="141042" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="poverty-line">poverty line</keyword>. It has to have a <keyword id="2006866" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Unified-structure">unified structure</keyword> across the country – involving every Indian citizen. In other words, it will be much like the ‘<keyword id="49358" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="voter-card">voter card</keyword>’ mechanism we have in place right now. At the age of 18, an Indian is entitled to get a voter card irrespective of the <keyword id="2006868" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Financial-divides">financial divides</keyword>. Going forward, if the central bank intends to follow the same principle and wants to bring the entire population of the country under its <keyword id="2006870" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Inclusion-umbrella">inclusion umbrella</keyword> (after all, one cannot leave one section of the citizens out of a <keyword id="2006871" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Mass-initiative">mass initiative</keyword> just because they are financially more stable), opening an account at the stipulated age should become mandatory and that means a mandatory <keyword id="1953676" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Aadhaar-validation">Aadhaar validation</keyword>. 
 And that brings us back to the basic question – what is the legal status of Aadhaar in India? Is it just a <keyword id="107911" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="Financial-inclusion">financial inclusion</keyword> tool for the economically weak or do the government agencies intend to turn it into an ‘all-inclusive’ tool required for every social and <keyword id="672932" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="economic-activity">economic activity</keyword> – right from <keyword id="427269" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Marriage-registration">marriage registration</keyword> to <keyword id="854003" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="land-registration">land registration</keyword>, from banking to <keyword id="6368952" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="shopping">shopping</keyword> and more? 
 The RBI has already asked banks to ensure <keyword id="1953683" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Aadhaar-authentication">Aadhaar authentication</keyword> for <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/Now-RBI-Wants-Aadhaar-Validation-For-Card-based-Transactions/articleshow/26473660.cms">card transactions</a> at merchant locations. “All new card present infrastructure has to be enabled for both <keyword id="1953693" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="EMV-chip-and-PIN">EMV chip and PIN</keyword> and Aadhaar (<keyword id="1953679" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Biometric-validation">biometric validation</keyword>) acceptance,” the central bank stated in a notification on November 26 last year. 
 Although the <keyword id="6354977" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="80" keywordseo="Supreme-Court">Supreme Court</keyword> has ruled that the <keyword id="6356006" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Aadhaar-card">Aadhaar Card</keyword> is not mandatory to get <keyword id="1739662" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="government-benefits">government benefits</keyword> and services, and the <keyword id="1878758" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="National-Identity-Authority-of-India-Bill">National Identity Authority of India Bill</keyword> is yet to get Parliamentary nod, Aadhaar seems to be enjoying a more hallowed status and getting its teeth deep into every key financial transaction one can think of. That might not be quite desirable at this stage as divulging <keyword id="441301" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="biometric-data">biometric data</keyword> (required for Aadhaar Card) is still considered voluntary and <keyword id="2006881" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Secure-storage">secure storage</keyword> of the same cannot be guaranteed even now. 
 The rest of the recommendations by the committee dwell on the structure and requirements of the <keyword id="2006882" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Proposed-banks">proposed banks</keyword>, <keyword id="6597293" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="priority-sector-lending">priority sector lending</keyword> and deposits, and classification of non-banking financial companies (NBFCs). 
 Interestingly, the payment banks will be required to meet the standard <keyword id="35038" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="80" keywordseo="crr">CRR</keyword> terms and must also deposit the balance proceeds in approved <keyword id="838337" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="SLR-securities">SLR securities</keyword> with duration of no more than three months. As they won’t be permitted to assume any kind of <keyword id="854662" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Credit-risk">credit risk</keyword>, which literally rules out any risk of default, the <keyword id="2006891" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Minimum-entry-capital">minimum entry capital</keyword> for them will be Rs 50 crore instead of the Rs 500 crore required for full-service commercial banks in the country. Also, the wholesale banks cannot accept deposits bigger than Rs 5 crore from a single depositor. 
 The RBI had launched a three-year financial <keyword id="2006853" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Inclusion-programme">inclusion programme</keyword> in April 2010, which prompted banks to open outlets in 200,000 villages. The current recommendations seek to deepen such access and experts even feel that the new banking licences, to be announced soon, can be categorised accordingly. But both the government and the RBI should ensure that the programme becomes ‘inclusive’ in the true sense of the term and validation issues should not throw a spanner in the works.

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