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).
Speaking on the occasion, Prof Jayati Ghosh, Centre For Economic Studies and Planning, JNU, said, “RBI’s autonomy died on Nov 2016 when the government declared demonetisation. The present government is the one without any accountability. The economic mess India is in also stems from this.” Speaking on the RBI’s decision to transfer money, she said, “Government is messing up with public finances. The RBI’s money will go towards plugging in the holes created by the demonetisation and hastily implemented GST.”