In the wake of RBI’s decision to transfer Rs 1.76 lakh crore to the government as per the recommendations of the Bimal Jalan-led committee; and Modi Government’s the decision to merge 10 Public Sector Banks to carve out for large banks, a public debate titled ‘RBI’s Reserve Fund Transfer & Banks Mergers: A Loot or Boost?’ was organised by Financial Accountability Network India, a collective of civil society organisations, unions, people’s movements, students, teachers and concerned citizens to highlight the issues of accountability and transparency of the national financial institutions.
The meeting was addressed by Sitaram Yechury, General Secretary, CPI(M); Prof Jayati Ghosh, Centre For Economic Studies and Planning, JNU; Prof C P Chandrasekhar, Centre For Economic Studies and Planning, JNU; Paranjoy Guha Thakurta, Senior Journalist and author; Dr Thomas Franco, Former General Secretary, All India Bank Officers’ Confederation; VK Tomar, Secretary-General, National Confederation of Officers’ Associations of Central PSUs; and Purushottam Sharma, CPI (ML).
Dr Thomas Franco, Former General Secretary, All India Bank Officers’ Confederation, said, “Bank Merger is against The Banking Companies (Acquisition and Transfer of Undertakings) Act, 1970, which stipulates that the consent from board and shareholders is mandatory.” He accused that the money will be used to bail out the struggling corporates.