24/08/2015
All major bank unions to join September 2 strike
There’s a continuous attempt to privatise and merge banks, says C H Venkatachalam
KOCHI, AUGUST 19:
All the leading unions across the banking sector will join in the pan-India bank strike on September 2, said CH Venkatachalam, General Secretary, All-India Bank Employees’ Association.
The strike is to protest against the ‘anti-labour and anti-people policies’ of the Centre and in support of the call given by the Central trade unions.
“There are open attempts to amend the various labour laws in favour of the employers and to the detriment of the workers,” he said in a statement. “The neo-liberal economic policies are aggravating the problems of the workers and common masses.”
The labour-law changes were to empower the employers with unfettered ‘hire and fire’ rights and to strip the employees and their unions of their rights.
Venkatachalam alleged that there were continuous attempts at privatisation of banks as well as for consolidation and merger of banks. More and more private capital and FDI were being encouraged. Regional rural banks are sought to be privatised, and urban co-operative banks are under threat of de-licensing.
Several government schemes were being passed on to public sector banks without giving them proper infrastructure and manpower, causing harassment to the bank staff.
Venkatachalam said members of the All-India Bank Officers’ Association, Bank Employees Federation of India, Indian National Bank Officers’ Congress, National Organisation of Bank Workers, Indian National Bank Employees’ Federation, National Organisation of Bank Officers, All-India Co-Operative Bank Employees’ Federation, All-India Gramin Bank Employees’ Association, All-India Gramin Bank Officers’ Association, All-India RRB Employees Association, All-India Reserve Bank Employees’ Association and All-India Reserve Bank Workers’ Federation would go on strike on September 2.
FinMin notifies second and fourth Saturday as public holiday for banks
OUR BUREAU MUMBAI, AUG 20:
The Finance Ministry, in exercise of powers conferred under the Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881, on Thursday issued a notification declaring the second and fourth Saturday of every month as public holiday for banks in India, with effect from September 1.
What this means is that the first Saturday holiday for banks will be on September 12, which is a second Saturday.
Second and fourth Saturday holiday for banks is as per the 10th bipartite wage settlement between the Indian Banks' Association and banking sector trade unions
RBI gives licence for 11 payments banks
Vodafone, Airtel and Reliance on the list; Kishore Biyani, Videocon d2h miss out
BUSINESSLINE, MUMBAI, AUG 19:
Paving the way for revolutionising cashless payments services in the country, the Reserve Bank of India on Wednesday granted payment bank licences to 11 firms.
This includes telecom companies Vodafone and Airtel; non-banking financial company Cholamandalam Distribution Services Ltd; large conglomerates Reliance Industries and Aditya Birla Nuvo; and individuals Vijay Shekhar Sharma, founder of Paytm, and Dilip Shanghvi, Managing Director of Sun Pharmaceuticals.
The Department of Posts, Fino Paytech, Tech Mahindra and National Securities Depository Ltd also made the cut.
Of the 41 entities that applied for a licence, the prominent names that did not make it in this round include Future Group Founder Kishore Biyani, Videocon d2h and MG George Muthoot.
Payments banks differ from conventional banks as they are not allowed to lend to customers or issue credit cards. They can, however, accept deposits of up to ₹1 lakh and can offer current and savings account deposits. They can also issue debit cards and offer internet banking.
Rollout plan
While the 11 companies have been given 18 months to comply with all the conditions laid out by the RBI, most of them have already put in place a robust roll-out plan. Telecom operators with their vast retail presence would be the first off the block.
Sunil Sood, Managing Director & CEO, Vodafone India, said, “The payment bank licence will enable us to offer a more comprehensive portfolio of banking and financial products and services, accelerating India’s journey into a cashless economy.” Norwegian telecom company Telenor announced that it was partnering Dilip Shanghvi along with IDFC.
Reliance Industries and Aditya Birla Nuovo will ride on their respective telecom ventures Reliance Jio and Idea Cellular. They would also leverage their existing businesses in retail and financial services to quickly roll out payment bank services.
For entities like Paytm, Fino PayTech and Cholamandalam, this is a natural progression of what they are already doing.
Vijay Shekhar Sharma, founder and CEO of Paytm, said: “It is truly a privilege to be one of the youngest ones in this lot of 11. We believe that led by mobile and data analytics technology, we will be able to change the face of financial inclusion opportunity in India. It is about bringing half a billion Indians to the main stream of economy.”
Vellayan Subbiah, MD, Cholamandalam Investment and Finance, said, “This is a transformative step in fulfilling the financial inclusion goal of the government and the RBI. We currently have over 534 branches spread across the country and a captive base of over 7.5 lakh customers, which is an immediate opportunity that can be tapped into.”
“I am very happy to learn that the Postal Department has been given a payment banking permission. I have been trying since I became the Minister to energise and make the vast network of Postal Department for financial digital inclusion and e-commerce activity. I would expect the Postal Department to prepare itself properly and effectively for this,” said Telecommunications and IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad.