Rift between RBI and Central Government - BEFI
RIFT BETWEEN RBI AND THE CENTRAL GOVERNMENT
BANK EMPLOYEES FEDERATION OF INDIA
NARESH PAUL CENTRE
53 Radha Bazar Lane, (1st Floor), Kolkata - 700 001
e-mail: pradipbefi@yahoo.co.in Website: www.befi.in
(Ph):033- 2225-4414/2236-5108 (M) 9433144271 Fax: 033-2236-5109/2242-0690
Press Statement issued on 30th October 2018 by Shri Pradip Biswas,
General Secretary, Bank Employees Federation of India, at Kolkata,
ON THE RIFT BETWEEN RBI AND THE CENTRAL GOVERNMENT
We
are disgusted, rather alarmed, at the public show of rift between the
Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and the Central Government in recent months.
Based
on the recommendation of the Royal Commission on Indian Currency and
Finance (1926), as conceptualised by Dr. B.R.Ambedkar in his famous
book, "The problem of the Rupee - its origin and its solution", RBI was
established in 1935 to take care of the financial troubles in the
aftermath of the First World War. Since then it has been in charge of
managing and regulating the currency and credit system, the monetary
policy and foreign exchange reserves of the country; it also acts as the
Banker to the Central and State Governments and exercises supervisory
and regulatory controls over the Banking System.
True
to its policy of decimating all constitutional and other public
institutions to suit its political agenda, the present dispensation at
the centre has been out to undermining the autonomy and authority of RBI
in all conceivable ways. It all started with the formation of the
Monetary Policy Committee, in 2016, with three members nominated by the
Centre, so as to gag the RBI's absolute say in the matter of deciding
interest rates. Then came the most ill-conceived demonetisation which,
the RBI claimed to have been handed out to it by the Centre, a clear
case of usurpation of authority of RBI in the matter of currency
management.
To make RBI fall in line, Sri Nachiket Mor, a
Director on the Board of RBI, was then removed more than two years
before his term was to expire; at the same time, Sri S. Gurumurthy and
Sri S. Marathe, having RSS-links, were inducted into the Board much to
the displeasure of the Govornor. Then it has been flexing its muscles on
the issues of management of Bad Loans (called NPA) of Banks and Prompt
Corrective Action (PCA) thereagainst.
There are tussle, also,
over Special Window for Dollar Sales to Oil Companies, over funding of
Non-Banking Financial Companies, over formation of a separate Payment
Regulator etc. To top it all, the Centre wants the RBI to transfer its
reserves to the central exchequer; while RBI has made a pay-out of a
whopping Rs.30,000/- crore this fiscal, the Centre demands at least
Rs.66,000/- Crore which the RBI has declined. The list is almost
unending but having one single objective of decimating the Reserve Bank
of India, the Central Bank of the country.
While we do not
subscribe to all the decisions of RBI at all times, there is no denying
that the firm intervention by RBI has saved our economy from many a
crisis, the latest being the global financial meltdown of 2008; we
firmly believe that undermining RBI would, in its wake, bring about a
costly disaster for our economy.
We, therefore, demand that the
authority, autonomy and independence of RBI be further strengthened so
as to enable it exercise more and stringent supervisory and regulatory
control over the banking and monetary system in the best interest of our
country.
For favour of circulation/broadcasting/telecasting through your esteemed media.
(Joydeb Dasgupta)
Secretary
Source: BEFI
