India's public sector banks with huge non-performing assets also saw high rejection of RTI pleas: Study

An analysis of right to information (RTI) data in the Annual Report of the Central Information Commission (CIC) has found that the proportion of rejection of RTI applications was quite high in public sector banks that had reported large volumes of net non-performing assets (NPAs) in 2014-15.

Carried out by Venkatesh Nayak of the Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative (CHRI), the analysis says, “Indian Overseas Bank, Bank of Baroda and Canara Bank, which had reported net NPAs ranging more than Rs 8,000 crore, rejected between a third to almost one half of the RTI applications in 2014-15, indicating a very high proportion of rejection of RTI applications.”
The analysis also found that “State Bank of India with the largest volume of net NPAs amongst the 24 public sector rejected 20% of the RTI applications during this period”, adding, however, “State Bank of Mysore and Vijaya Bank are exceptions to this trend as their rejections were very high – between 26-39% despite the volume of their net NPAs being less than Rs 2,000 crore.”
The analysis acquired significance because it comes against the backdrop of the recommendations of the PJ Nayak Committee report (May 2014), which said that public sector banks under The Right to Information Act, 2005 (RTI Act) was hampering their ability to compete with their rivals in the private sector.
“No data was produced in support of this finding”, Nayak said, adding, “Ever since, we at CHRI have examined this claim year after year in the light of the Annual Reports released by the CIC, which contain RTI application statistics submitted by these PSU Banks under Section 25 of the RTI Act.”
Now uploaded on the CIC website, Nayak said, a rapid analysis of the RTI statistics of 24 public sector banks that they received a total of 79,148 RTI applications in 2014-15 (including the backlog from 2013-14). “This amounts to 56.4% of the total volume of RTI applications received by the Ministry of Finance in 2014-15 (140,324 RTI applications).”
“The State Bank of India being the largest banking network across the country received the most number of RTI applications - 24,783, i.e. more than 31.3% of the total number of RTI applications received by the 24 public sector banks. Bank of India with 9,080 RTI applications is in second place, followed by Punjab National Bank at third place with 7,779 RTI applications dealt with in 2014-15”, Nayak said.
“In 2014-15, 10 of the 24 public sector banks witnessed a significant decline in the number of RTI applications dealt with. In 2013-14 when data from 20 PS Banks was analysed, only six Banks witnessed a declining trend in the number of RTI applications dealt with when compared with the previous reporting year of 2012-13”, Nayak said.

He added, “This appears to be in tune with the overall trend of decline in the number of RTI applications dealt with by public authorities under the Central Government in 2014-15.”
Coming to the rejection, the analysis said, “Public sector rejected between one fifth and more than one half of the RTI applications during this period”, adding, “Andhra Bank reported rejecting every second RTI application during 2014-15. It had rejected 55.1%, i.e., more than half of the RTI applications dealt with during this period.”
It further said, “Canara Bank takes second place with a rejection of 49.1% (almost half) of the RTI applications dealt with in 2014-15. Corporation Bank takes the third place with a rejection of 45.8%. These 3 Banks rejected 4 or 5 of every 10 RTI applications they received during 2014-15.”

Comments

Dalit rights and political tensions: Why is Mevani at odds with Congress leadership?

While I have known Jignesh Mevani, one of the dozen-odd Congress MLAs from Gujarat, ever since my Gandhinagar days—when he was a young activist aligned with well-known human rights lawyer Mukul Sinha’s organisation, Jan Sangharsh Manch—he became famous following the July 2016 Una Dalit atrocity, in which seven members of a family were brutally assaulted by self-proclaimed cow vigilantes while skinning a dead cow, a traditional occupation among Dalits.

Powering pollution, heating homes: Why are Delhi residents opposing incineration-based waste management

While going through the 50-odd-page report Burning Waste, Warming Cities? Waste-to-Energy (WTE) Incineration and Urban Heat in Delhi , authored by Chythenyen Devika Kulasekaran of the well-known advocacy group Centre for Financial Accountability, I came across a reference to Sukhdev Vihar — a place where I lived for almost a decade before moving to Moscow in 1986 as the foreign correspondent of the daily Patriot and weekly Link .

Boeing 787 under scrutiny again after Ahmedabad crash: Whistleblower warnings resurface

A heart-wrenching tragedy has taken place in Ahmedabad. As widely reported, a Boeing 787 Dreamliner plane crashed shortly after taking off from the city’s airport, currently operated by India’s top tycoon, Gautam Adani. The aircraft was carrying 230 passengers and 12 crew members. As expected, the crash has led to an outpouring of grief across the country. At the same time, there have been demands for the resignation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah, and the Civil Aviation Minister.

Ahmedabad's civic chaos: Drainage woes, waterlogging, and the illusion of Olympic dreams

In response to my blog on overflowing gutter lines at several spots in Ahmedabad's Vejalpur, a heavily populated area, a close acquaintance informed me that it's not just the middle-class housing societies that are affected by the nuisance. Preeti Das, who lives in a posh locality in what is fashionably called the SoBo area, tells me, "Things are worse in our society, Applewood."

Global NGO slams India for media clampdown during conflict, downplays Pakistan

A global civil rights group, Civicus has taken strong exception to how critical commentaries during the “recent conflict” with Pakistan were censored in India, with journalists getting “targeted”. I have no quarrel with the Civicus view, as the facts mentioned in it are all true.

Whither SCOPE? Twelve years on, Gujarat’s official English remains frozen in time

While writing my previous blog on how and why Narendra Modi went out of his way to promote English when he was Gujarat chief minister — despite opposition from people in the Sangh Parivar — I came across an interesting write-up by Aakar Patel, a well-known name among journalists and civil society circles.

Remembering Vijay Rupani: A quiet BJP leader who listened beyond party lines

Late evening on June 12, a senior sociologist of Indian origin, who lives in Vienna, asked me a pointed question: Of the 241 persons who died as a result of the devastating plane crash in Ahmedabad the other day, did I know anyone? I had no hesitation in telling her: former Gujarat chief minister Vijay Rupani, whom I described to her as "one of the more sensible persons in the BJP leadership."

Why India’s renewable energy sector struggles under 2,735 compliance hurdles

Recently, during a conversation with an industry representative, I was told how easy it is to set up a startup in Singapore compared to India. This gentleman, who had recently visited Singapore, explained that one of the key reasons Indians living in the Southeast Asian nation prefer establishing startups there is because the government is “extremely supportive” when it comes to obtaining clearances. “They don’t want to shift operations to India due to the large number of bureaucratic hurdles,” he remarked.

A conman, a demolition man: How 'prominent' scribes are defending Pritish Nandy

How to defend Pritish Nandy? That’s the big question some of his so-called fans seem to ponder, especially amidst sharp criticism of his alleged insensitivity during his journalistic career. One such incident involved the theft and publication of the birth certificate of Masaba Gupta, daughter of actor Neena Gupta, in the Illustrated Weekly of India, which Nandy was editing at the time. He reportedly did this to uncover the identity of Masaba’s father.

Search This Blog