NPAs: Unjustifiable to deny or deprive bank employees and officers of their rightful demand for pay hike

By Gautam Thaker*
Collusion of trinity of the Government, politicians and senior officers of banks over the last four years has dealt a death blow to the banking sector. Because of bad loans to the tune of thousands of crores of rupees, the sector's economic condition appears to have turned serious and pitiable. Mallya-Modi, after having availed of loans of thousands of crores, do not repay but migrate to foreign countries as defaulters. The administration is caught sleeping in preventing or detaining them. Looking at the entire scenario, the picture appears to be bleak.
In order to encourage advances and to augment development, the Government of India pumped in capital to the tune of Rs 80,000 crore in 20 of public sector banks. This fund was allocated under the re-capitalization scheme. The Finance Ministry took this step in the last quarter of 2017-18. Subsequent to this, after the quarterly period, nine of these banks, to whom this capital assistance was extended by the Government, registered a loss to the extent of half the amount of the assistance. In the light of huge losses incurred by banks, 70% of the capital assistance extended in recent times would have been eroded or wiped out.

The table here shows that, although during the last many years, banks have consistently earned operating profits, nearly 70% of hard-earned profits have evaporated due bad loans or non-performing assets (NPAs). Net profits are getting reduced due to bad loans and not due to any reasons attributable to the employees and officers of the banks. Hence it is unjustifiable to deny or deprive bank employees and officers of their rightful demand for pay hike.
NPA figures were Rs 2,29,278 crore in the financial year 2013-14; Rs 2,80,481 crore in 2014-15; Rs 5,41,972 crore in 2015-16, Rs 6,86,750 crore in 2016-17. In December 2017, NPA reached Rs 7,77,280 crore. This goes to prove that nothing else happened except evaporation of capital pumped in by the Government into banks. In the case of 14 public sector banks, as per the fourth quarterly results ending March 2018, consolidated losses reached over Rs 50,000 crore.
One would surely be surprised that Mudra loans have been tied around the throat of the Modi Government like a bell. During the last week, while addressing beneficiaries through a video conference, the Prime Minister declared, "We have come out with the Mudra scheme for offering loans to small scale entrepreneurs. With this, the talent or skill of the common people have received an identity."
But does the Prime Minister know that by June 30, 2017, 39 lakh Mudra scheme accounts have turned into NPAs, whose amount works out to as much as Rs 11,317 crore? Hence, the actual position of the Mudra scheme is this stark reality, in contrast to the praise voiced by the PM. Even more shocking pronouncement than this has been made by the Reserve Bank of India, that during the course of the last five year, there were 23,000 fraud cases, resulting in the erosion of Rs 1 lakh crore from banks. The fraudsters include mega defaulters such as Neerav Modi, Mehul Choksi, Vijay Mallya etc.
In all these scams, names of top officers of banks, their CMDs, etc. have come to light. Looking at the overall scenario during the last four years, this is dismal. Let us hope that by the month of March 2019, the condition of banks would turn around for the better and they would get a new lease of life.
---
*People's Union for Civil Liberties, Gujarat

Comments

1857 War of Independence... when Hindu-Muslim separatism, hatred wasn't an issue

"The Sepoy Revolt at Meerut", Illustrated London News, 1857 By Shamsul Islam* Large sections of Hindus, Muslims and Sikhs unitedly challenged the greatest imperialist power, Britain, during India’s First War of Independence which began on May 10, 1857; the day being Sunday. This extraordinary unity, naturally, unnerved the firangees and made them realize that if their rule was to continue in India, it could happen only when Hindus and Muslims, the largest two religious communities were divided on communal lines.

The curious case of multiple entries of a female voter of Maharashtra: What ECI's online voter records reveal

By Venkatesh Nayak* Cyberspace is agog with data, names and documents which question the reliability of the electoral rolls prepared by the electoral bureaucracy in Maharashtra prior to the General Elections conducted in 2024. One such example of deep dive probing has brought to the surface, the name of one female voter in the 132-Nalasopara (Gen) Vidhan Sabha Constituency in Maharashtra. Nalasopara is part of the Palghar (ST) Lok Sabha constituency. This media report claims that this individual's name figures multiple times in the voter list of the same constituency.

N-power plant at Mithi Virdi: CRZ nod is arbitrary, without jurisdiction

By Krishnakant* A case-appeal has been filed against the order of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) and others granting CRZ clearance for establishment of intake and outfall facility for proposed 6000 MWe Nuclear Power Plant at Mithi Virdi, District Bhavnagar, Gujarat by Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL) vide order in F 11-23 /2014-IA- III dated March 3, 2015. The case-appeal in the National Green Tribunal at Western Bench at Pune is filed by Shaktisinh Gohil, Sarpanch of Jasapara; Hajabhai Dihora of Mithi Virdi; Jagrutiben Gohil of Jasapara; Krishnakant and Rohit Prajapati activist of the Paryavaran Suraksha Samiti. The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has issued a notice to the MoEF&CC, Gujarat Pollution Control Board, Gujarat Coastal Zone Management Authority, Atomic Energy Regulatory Board and Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL) and case is kept for hearing on August 20, 2015. Appeal No. 23 of 2015 (WZ) is filed, a...

Spirit of leadership vs bondage: Of empowered chairman of 100-acre social forestry coop

By Gagan Sethi* This is about Khoda Sava, a young Dalit belonging to the Vankar sub-caste, who worked as a bonded labourer in a village near Vadgam in Banskantha district of North Gujarat. The year was 1982. Khoda had taken a loan of Rs 7,000 from the village sarpanch, a powerful landlord doing money-lending as his side business. Khoda, who had taken the loan for marriage, was landless. Normally, villagers would mortgage their land if they took loan from the sarpanch. But Khoda had no land. He had no option but to enter into a bondage agreement with the sarpanch in order to repay the loan. Working in bondage on the sarpanch’s field meant that he would be paid Rs 1,200 per annum, from which his loan amount with interest would be deducted. He was also obliged not to leave the sarpanch’s field and work as daily wager somewhere else. At the same time, Khoda was offered meal once a day, and his wife job as agricultural worker on a “priority basis”. That year, I was working as secretary...

Proposed Modi yatra from Jharkhand an 'insult' of Adivasi hero Birsa Munda: JMM

Counterview Desk The civil rights network, Jharkhand Janadhikar Mahasabha (JMM), which claims to have 30 grassroots groups under its wings, has decided to launch Save Democracy campaign to oppose Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Vikasit Bharat Sankalp Yatra to be launched on November 15 from the village of legendary 19th century tribal independence leader Birsa Munda from Ulihatu (Khunti district).

Ground reality: Israel would a remain Jewish state, attempt to overthrow it will be futile

By NS Venkataraman* Now that truce has been arrived at between Israel and Hamas for a period of four days and with release of a few hostages from both sides, there is hope that truce would be further extended and the intensity of war would become significantly less. This likely “truce period” gives an opportunity for the sworn supporters and bitter opponents of Hamas as well as Israel and the observers around the world to introspect on the happenings and whether this war could have been avoided. There is prolonged debate for the last several decades as to whom the present region that has been provided to Jews after the World War II belong. View of some people is that Jews have been occupants earlier and therefore, the region should belong to Jews only. However, Christians and those belonging to Islam have also lived in this regions for long period. While Christians make no claim, the dispute is between Jews and those who claim themselves to be Palestinians. In any case...

Two more "aadhaar-linked" Jharkhand deaths: 17 die of starvation since Sept 2017

Kaleshwar's sons Santosh and Mantosh Counterview Desk A fact-finding team of the Right to Feed Campaign, pointing towards the death of two more persons due to starvation in Jharkhand, has said that this has happened because of the absence of aadhaar, leading to “persistent lack of food at home and unavailability of any means of earning.” It has disputed the state government claims that these deaths are due to reasons other than starvation, adding, the authorities have “done nothing” to reduce the alarming state of food insecurity in the state.

A comrade in culture and controversy: Yao Wenyuan’s revolutionary legacy

By Harsh Thakor* This year marks two important anniversaries in Chinese revolutionary history—the 20th death anniversary of Yao Wenyuan, and the 50th anniversary of his seminal essay "On the Social Basis of the Lin Biao Anti-Party Clique". These milestones invite reflection on the man whose pen ignited the first sparks of the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution and whose sharp ideological interventions left an indelible imprint on the political and cultural landscape of socialist China.

Morbi’s ceramic workers face silicosis epidemic, 92% denied legal health benefits: PTRC study

By Rajiv Shah A new study by the Gujarat-based health rights organisation, Peoples Training and Research Centre (PTRC), warns that most workers in Morbi district’s ceramic industry—which produces 90% of India’s ceramic output—are at high risk of contracting silicosis, a deadly occupational disease.

Search This Blog