Officers' CauseMarch - 2015

Vol. 35 No.3 BANGALORE Single Copy : RS. 4/- MARCH - 2015

2NATION FIRST, ORGANISATION NEXT, INDIVIDUAL LAST

EditorialEditorialEditorialEditorialEditorial

UNION BUDGET FOR 2015-2016Whether a prelude to achha dinWhether a prelude to achha dinWhether a prelude to achha dinWhether a prelude to achha dinWhether a prelude to achha din

nion Finance Minister, Shri. Arun Jaitly in hissecond full scale budget has created a

sensation by trying to implement various financialreforms of the present NDA government. Thisbudget also is a reflection of the grand vision of thePrime Minister, Shri. Narendra Modi, to boost theeconomy through fast innovation, attractinvestment,cut red tapism, creates job opportunitiesthrough skill training to the employable.

In spite of more than six decades of its independenceand many five year plans, people of the countryare deprived of certain basic consumption needslike water, sanitation, health care, education andfood security etc.Here prosperity co-exist withhunger, malnutrition and deprivation. The balanceddevelopment of any county depends on properutilization of its resources with the co-operation ofcapital and labour. Since the labour is not acommodity it requires human approach for betterutilization of its skills and talent. One cannot helpwage earner by pulling down the wage payer. Assuch the Finance Minister is seems to have madean attempt to satisfy both corporates and thecommon man alike in his budget.

A notable feature of this year’s economy is theallocation of more resources about 42 percentageof the revenue to the states as against 32 percentearlier as recommended by the 14th Finance

Commission, under new Indian federal policy. Thisarrangement will give more freedom to states thatwill also make them a stake holder in the growthprocess, instead of being a residual beneficiary.Consequently certain central government projectssuch as education etc, will get transferred to stateportfolio.

Instead of trying to cut the budget expenditure andto bringing down the deficit, government is tryingto cut subsidy in various areas such as on food,fertilizer, petrol etc., and also to cut subsidy leakages.Government has also made appeal to all the MP’sMinisters’ and other effluents in the society to forgotheir subsidy on LPG.

Certain salient features of the budget are asfollows :

Direct taxes : The Finance Minister did not raisethe tax exemption limit to help the salaried class asexpected. Instead he tried to encourage them toavail the benefit by way of tax planning throughinvestments in various insurance and PensionSchemes, besides other normal expenses, whichare exempted.

In order to bring more people under tax net, the billhas made it mandatory to quote PAN for every saleand purchase that exceeds the value of ̀̀̀̀̀ 1 lakh. The

U

SUCCESS AWAITS AT THE DOOR WHERE DILIGENCE IS

Officers' Cause, March - 2015 3

increase of 2 percent in service tax will affect a largenumber of people who are not the tax payers, thatevery service they avail such as power, telephone,eating out, using beauty parlour, air travel etc, willhave to forgo an additional 2 percent surcharge. Inorder to please corporates Finance Minister hasreduced the corporate tax by 5 percent, whileimposing a surcharge on income of those thatexceeds Rs. 1 crore.

Banking: - An allocation of `̀̀̀̀ 7940 crore is madetowards capitalization of Public Sector Banks whichis inadequate, as their capital requirement is high,in view of the growing NPA’s. At the same time thereis a proposal to create a Holding and InvestmentCompany and an autonomous Board. It wouldprovide greater autonomy to the bank and helpthem to raise fund. Besides licenses to Small andPayment banks, a Micro Units DevelopmentRefinance Agency (MUDRA) is proposed, with acorpus of ̀̀̀̀̀ 20000 crores, to increase the availabilityof funds for small entrepreneurs. The bank willrefinance micro finance institution with priority toDalit and Tribal enterprises. According to FinanceMinister 62 percent of 5.77crores small business unitsin the country are owned by SC/STs/OBC’s. SC/STowned entrepreneurs will get priority in lending.With their intention to improve the financial inclusiongovernment proposes to utilize the vast Postal network with nearly 154000 points presence across thecountry. So that it contribute towards Payment Bankventure that will provide philip to Pradhan MantriJan Dhan Yojana.

Agriculture:-The green revolution country had inthe past benefitted only rich agriculturists, who hadmeans to invest in high cost inputs like seeds,fertilizer and pesticide. According to Shri.M.S.Swaminathan, the father of green revolution in India,' if agriculture goes wrong nothing will go right'. Assuch there is a proposal in the budget for a UnifiedNational Agriculture Market, to farmers, provideadditional support to organic farming and emphasison irrigation through creation of rural infrastructure,provide sufficient water use, and soil testingmechanism etc. They also extended ̀̀̀̀̀ 8.5 lakh crorecredit to farmers for 2015-16. Once the market isset up, farmers need not depend on local producermarketing committee as they will be allowed to selltheir products anywhere in the county.

Education; This sector faces a budgetary cut from amammoth `̀̀̀̀ 82771 crores to `̀̀̀̀ 68968/-. Accordingto HRD ministry about 17 percent cut is due to

transfer of some of the programmes to states bythe target allocation of fund as per 14th FinanceCommission.

Health: - According to report about 80 percent ofthe people in the country have no access to modernmedicine thanks to the prohibitive cost andmismanagement. Many government hospitals in thecountry do not have the essential drugs due to badpolicy and mismanagement. According to FinanceMinister a good health is vital to improve a person’squality of life and productivity and hence allocated`̀̀̀̀ 33152 crore as against `̀̀̀̀ 30645 crores providedin the last budget. There is also a proposal to setup six new AIIMS’s in various states subject tofulfilling the norms.

Swachh Bharat: - This is one of the dream projectsof the Prime Minister Shri. Narendra Modi to makeIndia clean. Clean Ganga project is another electionpromise of the present government. The FinanceMinister had accordingly allocated ̀̀̀̀̀ 4173 crores towater resources ministry of which about 50 percentwill go to Ganga rejuvenation. Out of the rest aportion will go to swachh bharat scheme.This isbesides funds being mobilized through various taxfree bonds introduced towards the project.Accordingly the government is reaffirming theirpledge for cleaner India. The project is not only aprogramme of hygiene and cleanliness but adeeper level programme for preventive health careand building awareness.

Black money: Bringing black money stashedabroad is one of the election promises of the presentgovernment, now closely being monitored by theApex Court. While the Government is providingamnesty to those who have stashed black moneyabroad by payment of tax and repatriation of theirstash, inadequate disclosure will entail punishmentby jail term up to 10 years in addition of penalty at300 percent of the tax. In addition a separate bill isproposed to deal with the benami transactions inreal estate, besides prohibition of cash payment of`̀̀̀̀ 20000/- or more in transaction related toimmovable properties. The other important aspect,of the budget is the introduction of Goods andService Tax (GST), mobilization of funds towardsinfrastructure and swachh bharat scheme,Insurance, Pension Scheme, Gold monetizationscheme, single window sanction to avoid redtapsim, setting up of smart cities and home forhomeless etc are all towards achha din as promisedby the new government, and to take our economyto a greater heights.

ARISE, AWAKE, STOP NOT TILL THE GOAL IS REACHED

4 Officers' Cause, March - 2015

February 2015, has been a historical day.The wage revision that was lingering and

crawling in the minds of every one since the last twoand a half years has been clinched in a flash whenthe members of the negotiating team entered thenegotiating room, they were all surprised by thepresence of executives like Mrs ArundhatiBhattacharya, the Chairman, State Bank of India,Mrs V.R.Iyyer, the Chairman Bank of India, and ShriT.M.Bhasin, Chairman IBA. Their presence on thecrucial day threw many questions in the minds ofUFBU leaders. Was it a positive signal ? Was it aneffort to silence UFBU ? Nothing was known. Butwe were all positive. As the negotiation began, theIBA as usual came up with the argument of payingcapacity , raising NPA’s , Economic environment andperformance of some of the Banks. There after ,the leaders of UFBU countered all their arguments .The UBFU Convener gave a detailed history andthe path that the negotiation has taken so far.Convincing arguments were put forth by thePresident and the General Secretary of AIBOC also.Despite , the best efforts the offer from IBA wasonly 0.5% hike. Thereafter, there was a break, whenthe UFBU leaders decided that, unless there is adecent offer and commitment in respect of 5 dayBanking, the strike will not be deferred. After thebreak, the core team of negotiation committeediscussed with IBA but the stalemate continued.Thereafter , the role played by the representativesof the Federation, the Confederation and theconvener paved the way for the remarkablesettlement in a very short time and clinched a decentpercentage of hike and more importantly thebreakthrough of 5 day Banking. It is worthmentioning the extremely important role played byour Chairman, Mrs Arundhati Bhattacharya, withwhom the undersigned has been in constantdialogue since last week, requesting for herintervention for a dialogue with the finance ministryon the issue of 5 day banking. The Chairman SBI,rightly intervened personally with the financeministry and was able to convince them to introducethe concept of 5 day banking, to begin with 2ndand 4th Saturday’s as holidays. We thank, theChairman SBI, Mrs Arundhati Bhattacharya for thestellar role she played in achieving this remarkablebreakthrough . The breakthrough of 5 day banking

HISTORICAL 10TH BIPARTITE SETTLEMENT REACHEDBETWEEN IBA AND UFBU

is no mean achievement. As a first step, theintroduction of 5 day banking is a large leap inachieving a work-life balance, for the over burdenedofficers and staff of the entire Banking Industry. TheFederation would also like to place on record , thegreat efforts of Sri T.M.Bhasin, Chairman of IBA, MrsV.R. Iyyer, Chairman ,Bank of India, Sri Rajeev Rishi,Chairman of Negotiating Committee, MrsM.V.Tanksale, CEO of IBA , Shri Ashwini Mehara DMD& CDO of SBI., the entire negotiating team of IBAalong with their back office team for thisbreakthrough. We would also like to place on recordthe efforts, support, suggestion and inputs given bythe General Secretaries and Presidents of affiliatesof the Federation in clinching the issue. We thankthe entire E.C. of the Federation, AIBOC and UFBUalong with innumerable officers across the country,who have shown faith, solidarity and given usvaluable inputs through e-mails , social media andoral communications, which has helped us to buildup our case. We would also like to place on recordthe role played by the H.R. Department of our bankin providing valuable inputs.

2.The Issues that clinched are;The Issues that clinched are;The Issues that clinched are;The Issues that clinched are;The Issues that clinched are;

1. The wage revision will be effective from01.11.2012.

2. The annual wage increase in salary andallowances @ 15% which works out to Rs.4725 crores on salary slip components.

3. The new scales will be constructed aftermerging dearness allowance corresponding4440 points as on November 2011,whichworks out to 60.15% and adding a loadfactor of 2% on Basic pay plus DearnessAllowance as on 31st March 2012amounting to around Rs. 597 crores.

4. Distribution of annual wage increasebetween Workmen Unions and O f f i c e r s ’Associations will be worked separatelybased on breakup of establishment expensesas on 31.03.2012.

5. Every second and fourth Saturday of the

WWWWWage Rage Rage Rage Rage Revisionevisionevisionevisionevision

23rdrdrdrdrd

Officers' Cause, March - 2015 5WORK IS WORSHIP , DO YOUR DUTY

month will be a holidayand otherSaturdayswill be full working days.

6. All others issues of the Managements andUnions/Associations discussed during theprocess of negotiation will be settled to themutual satisfaction.

7. The parties will meet on mutually convenientdates to draw out a detailed BipartiteSettlement/Joint Note on the various issueson which consensus position have beenreached. The parties will endeavour to finalisethe Bipartite Settlement/Joint Notewithin a period of ninety days.

3 It was also agreed to introduce an allowance

carrying DA. The other issues which will be pursuedvigorously, are the superannuation related issues likefamily pension, pension updation, DA neutralizationfor pre 2002 retirees along with the series of residualissues and constructions of decent pay scales. Theleadership of the AIBOC and UFBU will keep in mindall the related issues before concluding the wagerevision.

4. Federation thank the membership, especially theyounger generation of PO’s , TO’s who were of greatsource of support and strength to us. They alsothank the retirees who have provided valuable inputsand suggestions. Let us put our head together to tieup all loose ends to ensure for a decent 10thBipartite settlement, on the residual issues.

he settlement with IBA, achieving a very goodconclusion in the current scenario, is drawing

a lot of appreciation from the members across thecountry. Federation had also circularized, verbatim,the MOU signed with IBA, so that there is noconfusion amongst the membership at large. Thetime limit fixed for the finalization of the bipartiteagreement is 90 days from the date of the signingof MOU and we should be able to clinch the issuemuch before the deadline set for the purpose.

2. Federation had been getting a number ofenquiries from the members all over the countrydue to the large number of unauthorizedstatements, calculations that are in circulation,which are mere roumers, and do not have anyelement of truth in them. We have also been gettingfeedback from our affiliates as well activists thatthe members are eager to know the possiblestructure of the scale, the improvement in thevarious other allowances etc., and are expressingtheir own concern based on the feedback they getfrom the various sources of communication.

3. The UFBU and the AIBOC have already issueddetailed communications.

4. The MOU signed is historical from the point ofview of:

a) The settlement in terms of the quantum

10TH BIPARTITE SETTLEMENTHAPPY REACTIONS AND EXPECTATIONS

of money is the highest so far; the loadfactor is reasonable, considering thecircumstances.

b) The earlier compelling circumstances ofproviding for a huge amount towards thesuperannuation cost after the settlementof load factor, is a thing of the past. Thepresent understandings provides for thedistribution of the load factor only towardsthe items appearing in the pay slip.

c) The breakthrough in respect of the 5 dayweek is a great advancement in improvingthe quality of life of our members acrossthe country;

d) 5 day week settlement also vindicates thestand and struggles launched by ourbeloved Federation in State Bank of Indiademanding for the introduction of 5 daysweek in the bank. The sacrifice thatstalwarts from all the Circles made infacing the wrath of the Management, forour relentless struggle to achieve 5 daysweek will be recorded in the golden lettersof our Federations’ history. Members mayremember that the Presidents andGeneral Secretaries of all the affiliateswere not only issued charge sheets fortheir legitimate trade union action but also

T

LET CUSTOMER SERVICE BE OUR MOTTO

5 Officers' Cause, March - 2015

punished in the process. The Federationdid not give up the fight and ultimately wasable to not only set right the injusticemeted out to our leaders, but also saw thatthe issue of 5 day week is taken to a logicalend in the bipartite settlement.

e) The current negotiations also opened updoors for further discussions on the issuesof the retirees, in particular, theimprovement in the family Pension,Pension improvement, the rationalizationof dearness allowance etc., on which theleadership will be concentrating in ourfuture meetings and would endeavor toresolve all these issues.

f) The current negotiations also provided anopportunity to the leadership of theFederation and Confederation to link upthe problems related to the DisciplinaryProceedings along with the bipartitenegotiations for the first time and whichwould be pursued to logical end;

g) There are numerous residual issues whichwill be sorted out during the next few days

and bring cheer and joy to our members.

h) Efforts would be made with IBA to makeimprovements in all the residual issuesraised by us.

5. It is time for all of us to have patience and awaitthe final outcome of the settlement as per theMOU signed by UFBU and the IBA. The Federationis fully geared up to the situation and would makeall out efforts to ensure a better deal to theOfficers’ fraternity through sustained follow-upand persuasion at the IBA level so that the MOUsigned would be fruitful and beneficial to all ourmembers in the Bank.

6. A series of meetings are being held in differentcenters and the leadership and our circle affiliatesare availing the opportunity to place the full factsof negotiations before the members so that theyare able to appreciate and understand the tryingcircumstances under which such a wonderful andhistorical settlement was reached by the UFBUand IBA on 23rd February, 2015. Efforts are on toaddress members at as many centers as possiblebut there are limitations and time constrains forthe leadership. Hence, this communication.

A GRAND VALEDICTION OF 115TH PROGRAMME OF NATURE5 DAYS WORKSHOP FROM 9TH TO 13TH FEBRUARY, 2015

ON DISCIPLINARY AND VIGILANCE CONCLUDEDore than 40 participants were in attendancefor the programme from the affiliates of the

Federation as well as from the Confederation, ona workshop on Disciplinary and VigilanceProceedings conducted by NATURE that wasconcluded on 13th February, 2015.

2. Com. Shankar Bhai Patel, the Sr.Vice Presidentof the Federation and the General Secretary ofthe SBIOA, Ahmedabad Circle was the ChiefGuest. Com.G.Muthuswamy, the former GeneralSecretary of SBIOA(K), and Former Senior VicePresident of the Federation, Com.Y.Sudarshan,President of AIBOC and General Secretary ofAISBOF, Com.Shankar.N.Naik, General Secretaryof SBIOA(K), and Com.D.Shyamsunder Rao,President, SBIOA(K) and Com.K.Nagaraja Shastry,former Secretary of AISBOF were present.

3. Com.Shyamsunder Rao, the President of

SBIOA(K) and also the Course Co-ordinator gavea brief summary of the programme.

4. Com.Y.Sudarshan, the President of AIBOC andGeneral Secretary of AISBOF extended a warmwelcome to the participants and dignitaries on thedais. He gave a vivid account of the efforts of theConfederation and UFBU since the last two and ahalf years and in trying to resolve the burningissue of the salary revision ever since acomprehensive charter was submitted to IBA in theyear 2012. He also explained in detail the adamantand unhelpful attitude of the representatives of theNegotiating Team of IBA in coming to terms withthe Charter of Demands submitted by the Officersand the Workmen in order to find amicablesolution to all the major issues raised by them.

5. The President of AIBOC assured the house thatthe Confederation is fully prepared and there is

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OrganisationOrganisationOrganisationOrganisationOrganisationMatterMatterMatterMatterMatter

BE TRUTHFUL, BE FEARLESS

Officers' Cause, March - 2015 7

no question of relenting from our demand for areasonable improvement in the offer made by IBAas to provide a fair and equitable compensationto the employees and officers in the bankingindustry. He explained the series of events leadingto the four days strike between 25th to 28thFebruary, 2015. He also spoke about NATURE andits continuous efforts in training defense personnelthroughout the country. He complimented theparticipants for voluntarily taking up this pious task.

6. Thereafter, Com.Shankarbhai Patel deliveringhis valedictory address appreciated the interestshown by the participants in attending the trainingprogramme organized by NATURE. Heappreciated the selfless role played by theFederation, through NATURE, in providing thenecessary skill and knowledge to all thosemembers who are interested in the noble causeof defending the innocent officers who have beencaught in the net of disciplinary and vigilanceproceedings. He advised the participants to utilizethe knowledge they have acquired through the

training programme as a true disciple of theNATURE and serve the cause of the innocentmembers. He quoted various examples fromscriptures and mythology and drew comparisonwith the disciplinary proceedings. Com.Patelexplained to the participants the nuances ofNatural justice, the finer points of defense and saidthat one has to put himself in the shoes of the CSOand have total faith in him in order to do justice tothe role. He also cautioned everyone that‘Prevention is better than cure’ and so it is betterto propagate preventive vigilance and ensuremaximum care in handling the business andtransactions.

7. Various participants then spoke on the occasionand appreciated the efforts of the faculty intraining all of them and subsequently certificateswere handed over to them for participation in theprogramme, by all the dignitaries on the dais.

8. The meeting ended with vote of thanks byCom.D.Shyamsunder Rao, President, SBIOA(K)and course coordinator of NATURE.

ederation had sent a letter to the on 16th February2015 to the Corporate Office on the subject to settle

the claim of the families of those officers who met withpremature death at the earliest without any delay. Thetext of the letter is appended hereunder.

As you are aware, the officers are working undertremendous pressure due to changed market dynamics,staff shortage and increased expectations in multiple areas.

2. In the present scenario an average officer suffers fromhypertension, blood pressure and diabetes which havebecome very common. This has resulted in untimelyailments and premature death of officers.

3. Under such circumstances, if an officer dies while inservice, his family has to face the irreparable loss. Thoughthe Bank supports the families of such unfortunateofficers, by way of scheme of CompassionateAppointment or an Ex-gratia amount, the time involvedin processing and approving the same is considerably highand therefore the family members are unable to meetthe immediate financial needs due to liquidity problemsthat crop up due to sudden passing away of the breadearner and blockage of funds in various investments.

4. Since the settlement of terminal dues to the familymembers normally takes a period two to three months,we propose as under:

a. A minimum amount, as may be decided,should be released within 48 hours of death tothe family members, keeping the option ofCompassionate appoint/Ex-gratia open. This canbe done by empowering the Branch Manager/Head of Departments to release the same bydebit to suspense account/by debit to LHOthrough IBTS, which can reconciled at the timeof payment of terminal dues.

b) Further, it is reported that the monthly perksearned by the Official is not paid to the familymembers even if the officer dies on the last dayof the month or the of last week of the month,as the family of the officer cannot claim the samein HRMS. The amount of these perks by way of4 in 1, entertainment allowance, bucketallowance, maintenance of furniture,accumulated leave encashment, unavailed LFCencashment etc., due to the deceased officer,works out to be sizable amount, and this should

FUNTIMELUNTIMELUNTIMELUNTIMELUNTIMELY AILMENTS AND PREMAY AILMENTS AND PREMAY AILMENTS AND PREMAY AILMENTS AND PREMAY AILMENTS AND PREMATURE DEATURE DEATURE DEATURE DEATURE DEATH OF OFFICERSTH OF OFFICERSTH OF OFFICERSTH OF OFFICERSTH OF OFFICERS

OUR LIFE IS WHAT OUR THOUGHTS MAKE IT 7 Officers' Cause, March - 2015

rightfully be passed on to the family members,immediately. Therefore the perks which arerightfully due to the official at the time of death

Organisation ElectionOrganisation ElectionOrganisation ElectionOrganisation ElectionOrganisation Election

should be released to the family members withina day or two, by the Branch Head. Hope to expecta positive response in this regard.

SBIOA- LUCKNOW CIRCLE

The triennial general election of SBIOA Lucknow Circle for 2014 -17 was conducted on 14th February 2015 inaccordance with the provisions of rule 8.21 of the Bye Laws and Rules of SBI Officers’ Association (LucknowCircle) when the following office bearers of the Circle were declared elected, among others,viz..

PresidentPresidentPresidentPresidentPresident Com. Pawan KumarCom. Pawan KumarCom. Pawan KumarCom. Pawan KumarCom. Pawan KumarGeneral SecretaryGeneral SecretaryGeneral SecretaryGeneral SecretaryGeneral Secretary Com. Atul SwaroopCom. Atul SwaroopCom. Atul SwaroopCom. Atul SwaroopCom. Atul SwaroopSecretary FinanceSecretary FinanceSecretary FinanceSecretary FinanceSecretary Finance Com. Sanjeev AgarwalCom. Sanjeev AgarwalCom. Sanjeev AgarwalCom. Sanjeev AgarwalCom. Sanjeev Agarwal

“Officers CauseOfficers CauseOfficers CauseOfficers CauseOfficers Cause” congratulates Com. Pawan Kumar, Com. Atul Swaroop and Com. Sanjeev Agarwal forhaving elected as President, General Secretary and Secretary Finance, respectively along with other officebearers and wish them all success in their future endeavor.

SBIOA –BHOPAL CIRCLE

The triennial general election of SBIOA- Bhopal Circle for the period 2015-2017 was held at Bhopal when thefollowing office bearers were declared elected among others viz:

PresidentPresidentPresidentPresidentPresident Com. Rakesh AgarwalCom. Rakesh AgarwalCom. Rakesh AgarwalCom. Rakesh AgarwalCom. Rakesh AgarwalGeneral SecretaryGeneral SecretaryGeneral SecretaryGeneral SecretaryGeneral Secretary Com. Sanjeev Kumar MishraCom. Sanjeev Kumar MishraCom. Sanjeev Kumar MishraCom. Sanjeev Kumar MishraCom. Sanjeev Kumar MishraSecretary FinanceSecretary FinanceSecretary FinanceSecretary FinanceSecretary Finance Com. Umakant MishraCom. Umakant MishraCom. Umakant MishraCom. Umakant MishraCom. Umakant Mishra

“Officers’ Cause”“Officers’ Cause”“Officers’ Cause”“Officers’ Cause”“Officers’ Cause” congratulates Com. Rakesh Agarwal, Com. Sanjeev Kumar Mishra and Com. UmakanthMishra for having elected as President, General Secretary and Secretary Finance, respectively along with otheroffice bearers and wish them all success in their future endeavor.

SBIOA - HYDERABAD CIRCLE

The Triennial general election of SBIOA Hyderabad Circle for the period 2015-2018 was held on 1st March2015 at Hyderabad, when the following office-bearers were declared elected among others viz.

PresidentPresidentPresidentPresidentPresident Com. B. SukkaiahCom. B. SukkaiahCom. B. SukkaiahCom. B. SukkaiahCom. B. SukkaiahGeneral SecretaryGeneral SecretaryGeneral SecretaryGeneral SecretaryGeneral Secretary Com. G. SubramanyamCom. G. SubramanyamCom. G. SubramanyamCom. G. SubramanyamCom. G. SubramanyamTTTTTreasurerreasurerreasurerreasurerreasurer Com. NVS VCom. NVS VCom. NVS VCom. NVS VCom. NVS Veda Murthyeda Murthyeda Murthyeda Murthyeda Murthy

“Officers’ Cause" “Officers’ Cause" “Officers’ Cause" “Officers’ Cause" “Officers’ Cause" congratulates Com. B. Sukkaiah, Com. G. Subramanyam and Com. N.V.S. Vedamurthy forhaving elected as President, General Secretary and Treasurer respectively, along with other office bearers andwish them all success in their future endeavour.

Annual General Meeting of SBIOA (BengalCircle) was held at Nazrul Mancha, at

Rabindra Sarovar Kolkatta on 22nd Feb,2015 whenthe following leaders and dignitaries were present.Com. Gautam Debnath (President, SBIOA, Bengal

Circle), Com. Soumya Datta (General Secretary,SBIOA, Bengal Circle), Com. Y. Sudarshan (GeneralSecretary, SBIOF), Sri Prashant Kumar (CGM, KolkataCircle), Com.R.N.Banerjee, Com. ShyamalChakraborty, Com. Siddhartha Khan,

49th

TRIENNIAL ELECTIONS 2014-17 TRIENNIAL ELECTIONS 2014-17 TRIENNIAL ELECTIONS 2014-17 TRIENNIAL ELECTIONS 2014-17 TRIENNIAL ELECTIONS 2014-17

49TH ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING OF SBIOA (BENGAL CIRCLE)49TH ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING OF SBIOA (BENGAL CIRCLE)49TH ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING OF SBIOA (BENGAL CIRCLE)49TH ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING OF SBIOA (BENGAL CIRCLE)49TH ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING OF SBIOA (BENGAL CIRCLE)

LET US BUILD A STRONG AND SELF RELIANT INDIA

Officers' Cause, March - 2015 9

Com.Gautam Banerjee, Com. Samir KumarMukherjee (General Secretary, SBIOA, N E Circle),Com. M. Sreenath (General Secretary, SBIOA, KeralaCircle), Com. S. B. Patel (General Secretary,Ahmedabad Circle), Com. Sanjeev Kumar Mishra(General Secretary, SBIOA, Bhopal Circle), Com.Sambit Mishra (General Secretary, SBIOA,Bhubaneshwar Circle), Com. J. C. Modi (President,SBIOA, Ahmedabad Circle), Com. Bibekananda Das(President, SBIOA, Bhubaneshwar Circle), Com.Panikkar M. Jacobb (President, SBIOA, Kerala Circle)and Com. Senthil Kumar (DGS, SBIOA, ChennaiCircle).

Com.Soumya Datta, General Secretary, SBIOA,Bengal Circle and Vice President, AISBOF welcomedthe guests and the gathering. He urged upon themanagement to formulate a Transfer Policy basedon the maxim “minimum inconvenience tomaximum officers”. He proclaimed that formationof “Women’s Wing” and “Young Wing” a la“Cultural Wing” is in the offing. Com. Dattawelcomed all the leaders past and present, on andoff the dais. He reminded that our Federation willcomplete 50 years, this year.

Sri.Prashant Kumar, Chief General Manager releasedthe special issue of “Sup-Voice”, the in-housemagazine of SBIOA Bengal Circle. He also handedover the cheques to the following Institution as apart of social activity which SBIOA, Bengal Circleis pioneer and conducting such activitiesthroughout the Circle on all twelve months in ayear.

a) Smt. Anuradha Sen (Principal, Deaf & DumbSchool), for providing drinking water to thestudents of the school.

b) Sri Bhola Paswan (a blind student of

Dinabandhu Andrews college), who wasadopted by the Association for furtheranceof his studies.

c) Sri Gour Das (acute heart patient).

Sri.Prashant Kumar, Chief General Manager startedhis inaugural address as “All my family members ofKolkatta Circle”. He mentioned the issues like changesin society, environment and banking industry. Theissues of staff shortage, problems of lady employeesalso found place in his deliberation. He also coveredthe points like balancing of commercial nature andsocial obligation of our bank, profitability –recruitment aspect, etc., and appealed to all themembers to take the Bank to greater heights of glory.

Com.Y.Sudarshan (General Secretary, AISBOF) in hiskeynote address pointed out the matter of generationgap in our Bank as recruitment was put on hold foryears. He mentioned the incident of kidnapping ofofficials in N E Circle. Transformation of our Bank toa tech-savvy one. He mentioned in style the role ofthe bank officials towards fulfillment of the objectiveof Prime Minister’s Jan Dhan Yojana, FinancialInclusion Policy.

The blazing issue of wage negotiations and proposedstrike occupied a major portion of his speech. Hecongratulated Com.Gautam Debnath, Com.SoumyaDatta and all the comrades of SBIOA, Bengal Circlefor the wonderful arrangements and the massive turnout and the way the Circle conducted the AnnualGeneral meetings.

“Officers’ CauseOfficers’ CauseOfficers’ CauseOfficers’ CauseOfficers’ Cause” compliment Com.GautamDebnath and Com.Soumya Datta, President andGeneral Secretary of SBIOA, Bengal Circle and otherleadership membership, for a grand gala programmewhich has enhanced the image of the Associationand Federation.

INTERNAINTERNAINTERNAINTERNAINTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DATIONAL WOMEN’S DATIONAL WOMEN’S DATIONAL WOMEN’S DATIONAL WOMEN’S DAYYYYYRESOLRESOLRESOLRESOLRESOLVE TO REMOVE TO REMOVE TO REMOVE TO REMOVE TO REMOVE ALL DISCRIMINAVE ALL DISCRIMINAVE ALL DISCRIMINAVE ALL DISCRIMINAVE ALL DISCRIMINATION TO WOMENFOLKTION TO WOMENFOLKTION TO WOMENFOLKTION TO WOMENFOLKTION TO WOMENFOLK

T he 8th March is being celebrated asInternational Women’s Day all over the world.

It is an opportunity to take a view on the livingconditions of the womenfolk all over the world andend all discrimination that is being practiced againstthem in an organized manner.

2.2.2.2.2. The idea of seeking equal rights and empowering

the womenfolk began with the International Women’sConference during 1910 at Copenhagen. Themovement picked up slowly and the decision to observethe International Women’s day on 8th March of everyyear was decided through sustained efforts ofAmerican and German Socialists. The idea of equalrights to women germinated through successivemeetings and conferences in the western countries.

DUTY FIRST, RIGHT NEXT

9 Officers' Cause, March - 2015

It is most unfortunate that even with all theseattempts and efforts both by the National andInternational organizations, the atrocities on the girlchild, womenfolk is on the increase all over thecountry. Women are still forbidden from participatingin several activities. Education is denied to them inthe name of religion, caste, creed etc., andperpetuation of exploitation is seen in several partsof the globe. Hence, it needs a tremendous efforton the part of all concerned in promoting equalrights to women and to ensure total education,participation in the self governance in democraticcountries and to ensure that they are given the rightof inheritance, property rights, right of employmentin all sectors of the economy etc.

3.3.3.3.3. The Indian history is full of incidents as to howthe womenfolk were enjoying the equal rights in theearlier part of our civilization. However, throughsuccessive ruling by several groups, the condition ofwomenfolk in India became worst and they had tosuffer a lot of discrimination over a period of time.Independence brought an opportunity to theGovernment that the womenfolk should beempowered and given fullest opportunity on par withthat of men in India.

4.4.4.4.4. The right to equality is guaranteed under theconstitution to women in our country. However, inpractice we see a lot of distortion and discriminationagainst the women throughout the country. It is inthis background, the International Women’s Daybecomes a meaningful celebration all over thecountry.

5.5.5.5.5. The right to participate in the governance of thecountry through reservation of seats in all structuredforums of democracy is a loud thinking of thesuccessive Governments but with no sincereattempts on the part of the various political parties.The women reservation bill is yet to see the light ofthe day in the Parliament.

6.6.6.6.6. A large number of organizations have come upto protect the interest of the women in our country.The trade unions in the organized sector have alsocontributed their mite to organize the womenworkers and help them in providing leadership towomen workers and to espouse their cause with theGovernment and other agencies.

7. 7. 7. 7. 7. The All India Bank Officers’ Confederation tookspecial initiative and established a women’s wing inthe organization to encourage the women officersto get themselves organized and work for theemancipation of women in our country. TheConfederation has been continuously organizingvarious activities from time to time, utilizing theresources that are available in our organization increating an awareness amongst the women officersas well as the general public all over the country. TheNDA Government, on its assumption of office, hasdeclared that it would go all out to ensure equality towomen and end all sorts of discrimination that arebeing practiced against them. The women’scontribution to the economy cannot be ignored. Theyare the major labour force in agriculture, textile andall the traditional institutions and are subject to a lotof discrimination in regard to the facilities provided,the wages paid etc., despite the close watch of theGovernment and the series of legislative measures toprotect their position in the work place. Apart fromthe IT Sector, the Banking Industry is one of the majorsector, employing a large number of women who areoccupying several high positions in the organization.In the last Republic Day celebrations, three wings ofthe army personnel were led by women army officers’,for the first time, symbolizing the importance thatthe present Government is showing towards thewomen in India.

8.8.8.8.8. The celebration should not become a one dayaffair. It should be meaningfully practiced in our dayto day life. As enlightened members of a greatorganization we have a responsibility to ensure thatthe Gender Discrimination is eradicated in our day today life. We have to ensure that the women workersare respected and their rights are protected. TheOfficers’ organization under the banner of Federationand Confederation have a definite role andresponsibility in creating an awareness amongst thewomen all over the country through their contactsand organizational activities and help them inprotecting their rights for a equal right and equalopportunity in society.

9.9.9.9.9. The AISBOF and the AIBOC are taking up issuesof Women Officers within the Bank and with the IBAto ensure good service conditions with a fair workingatmosphere.

NEVER BEND BEFORE THE INSOLENT MIGHT

Officers' Cause, March - 2015 10

he asset quality of SBI has remained stable inthe past few quarters. This is thanks to the

bank’s effort to contain additional slippages. Its assetquality had become a cause for concern in theDecember 2013 quarter as gross non-performingassets (GNPA) shot up to 5.7 percent and freshslippages mounted to about `̀̀̀̀11,000 crore.

BETTER OFF THAN PEERBETTER OFF THAN PEERBETTER OFF THAN PEERBETTER OFF THAN PEERBETTER OFF THAN PEER

But since then, over the last four quarters, the bankhas been able to bring down its GNPA to 4.9 percentof loans. Fresh slippages too have been trending lowerand stood at `̀̀̀̀ 7,043 crore in the latest Decemberquarter. SBI also has the lowest proportion ofrestructured assets at about 3.6 percent of loanscompared to 6-10 percent for other PSU banks.

Thus, come April, when the existing “regulatoryforbearance” on restructuring will no longer beavailable, SBI will be less impacted than its peers,which will see a notable increase in provisioningrequirement. SBI also remains one of the bestcapitalized public sector banks with Tier I ratio of 10percent. It is one of the nine banks that will receivecapital from the Governent this year.

In the last one year, the stock of SBI has doubled.But even after the rally, the stock trader at 1.3 timesits standalone one-year forward adjusted book value(excluding value of its subsidiaries at `̀̀̀̀ 60 per share),in line with its historical average of 1.3 times. Investorswith a two-to-three year perspective can buy into thestock.

BETTING ON RECOVERYBETTING ON RECOVERYBETTING ON RECOVERYBETTING ON RECOVERYBETTING ON RECOVERY

While containing bad loans is a positive, the bank’ssubdued growth in core net interest income has been

a concern. The net interest income growth remainedmuted at 9.2 percent in the latest December quarter.The pace of growth in core income has slowed sincethe September quarter when it witnessed 8 percentgrowth, after a healthy 15 percent recorded in theJune quarter. The loan growth too moderated to6.9 percent in the December quarter (from 9 percentin the September quarter), lower than the industrygrowth of about 10 percent during the same period.

Growth in large corporate loans outpaced that inretail loans. Home and auto loan growth haveslowed in the last couple of quarter, home loansgrew by 13 percent, down from the 18 percentgrowth in 2013-14 and auto loans grew 10.8percent (12.6 percent in 2013-14). But theseconcerns should recede, as investment activity picksup over the next year or so. Given the bank’s sizeand presence across sectors and regions, it offersthe best play on the recovery in the economy.

Moreover, SBI has the largest network of branches,with 65 percent in the rural and semi-urban regions.The bank has the highest share of retail loans in itsloan portfolio at about 20 percent when comparedwith other public sector banks. SBI’s largest networkof branches has helped it maintain a higher shareof low cost retail deposits vis-à-vis its peers. Thebank’s CASA ratio stood at 42.5 percent as ofDecember 2014.

The Bank’s net interest margin (NIM) has been stableat about 3.5 percent in the last two to threequarters. The lack of lending opportunity and ampleliquidity made SBI cut deposit rates across variousmaturities to keep margins intact. With lower costof funds, the bank should be able to keep its marginssteady in the coming quarters.

Source: Business Line, Dt.23/2/15Source: Business Line, Dt.23/2/15Source: Business Line, Dt.23/2/15Source: Business Line, Dt.23/2/15Source: Business Line, Dt.23/2/15

SBI LAUNCHES TECH –TRAINING CENTRE TO HELP CUSTOMERS

o get customers to use alternate bankingchannels such as ATMs internet and mobile

banking, State Bank of India has started technologylearning centres at 385 regional business officesacross the country.

The bank is conducting free interactive learningsessions for customers on the third Friday of everymonth. “We found that many of our customers neededhandholding to use technology –oriented offerings

from the bank. So we have started an initiativecalled technology learning centre,” said ChairmanSmt. Arundhati Bhattacharya. The interactivelearning sessions take customers through the how’sand why’s of the bank’s alternate banking channels,including net banking, mobile banking, greenchannel, ATMs, cash deposit machines,. Plasticbanking (cards) pass book digital printing, andmore. So far, the bank has covered about 30,000customers she added. Elaborating on SBI’s

T

T

SBI- COUNTING ON BETTER TIMESBankingBankingBankingBankingBanking

TIME AND TIDE WAIT FOR NONE

11 Officers' Cause, March - 2015

technology initiatives, the Chairman said it hasstarted a quick banking service. Under this service,a customer can give a missed call or send an SMSto one of the five dedicated numbers to know theaccount balance, mini-statement and also to blocktheir cards. “In a month’s time we are seeing tractionto the extent of 1.3-1.6 lakh transactions being doneon this missed call banking”, As for ATMs the SBI

chief pointed out that her bank really needs to pressforward with regard to the uptime. And this (up-time)is a problem in rural areas because of lack ofelectricity. “Hence, we have installed 800 solarpowered ATMs in rural areas. Depending on howthese ATMs perform, we will be rolling out furthernumbers” said the Chairman.

Source: Business Line, Date: 17/02/2015

SBI EXPERIMENTS WITH DAILY INSTALMENT LOANSn a bid to keep bad loans in check, State Bank ofIndia is now trying a new collection model

that allows borrowers to pay back on dailyinstallment basis. SBI has started offering this loanproduct to cab hailing service company Olacabs.This is a departure from the existing loan servicingmodel where borrowers re pay by way of equatedmonthly installments.

A TAD CHEAPER: Under the tie-up, cab ownersassociated with Olacabs can avail themselves ofcar loans from SBI on a preferential basis, with fasterloan turn around time. Since repayments will beon a daily basis, the loans could come a tadcheaper. Each time the driver makes a payment toOlacabs, a part of it will automatically go to SBItowards loan servicing, through Olacabs’ pre-paidwallet. According to Sri. B Sriram, ManagingDirector & Group Executive (National Banking), SBIis increasingly trying to push risk mitigated productswithin the small and medium enterprises segment.Through the daily collection cycle, the bank’sofficials will be able to keep track of the borrower’s

financial situation. Any break in the daily collectioncycle will serve as an early warming single and thebank can quickly intervene and resolve the matter,ensuring that the loan does not become non-performing.

OTHER ADVANTAGE: The other advantage is thatthe bank can lower the margins and spreads (overthe benchmark lending rate) because the cost of sucha loan is lesser. “It (such a product) becomesattractive for the bank because we don’t have toomuch follow up to do and technology takes care ofthe rest”, said the Managing Director. SBI will berunning a pilot of this daily collection loan productin three places –Bengaluru, Ranchi and Guwahati.These loans will be covered under the CreditGuarantee Fund Trust for Micro and SmallEnterprises. Under the cover, if a borrower fails todischarge his liabilities to the lender, the Trust makesgood the loss incurred by the lender for up to 85 percentof the credit facility.

Source: Business Line, Date: 23/02/15

DONATION TO SRIGANDHA KAVAL SCHOOLA PROJECT OF SBIOA EDUCATION SOCIETY – BANGALORE

AN APPEAL FROM THE PRESIDENT AND GENERAL SECRETARY OF SBIOA(K)

BI Officers’ AssociationEducation Society, is

running two schools in thestate of Karnataka, onein Bangalore and the otherin Hubli. Both the schoolsare well managed andmaintaining good standard.

Bangalore DevelopmentAuthority has allotted a site atSrigandha Kaval, in Bangaloreto the society having an extentof 24725 sq feet (115’X215’)

for the purpose of openinga school. As such thesociety had decided toconstruct a school buildingin the allotted site with abuilt up area of 15000 sqfeet with G+ 1 floor, withall amenities required underthe rule, at a cost of `̀̀̀̀ 4.30crore and a Bhoomi poojawas held on 16.9.2013.

The construction is nowunder progress and is at

SBIOA(K) PUBLIC SCHOOL UNDER CONSTRUCTION

I

S

Subscribe toSubscribe toSubscribe toSubscribe toSubscribe to OFFICERS' CAUSE DOMESTIC ENQUIRY LABOUR RESEARCH SUBSCRIPTION SUBSCRIPTION SUBSCRIPTION

Annual : Annual : Annual : Annual : Annual : `̀̀̀̀.40/- Annual : .40/- Annual : .40/- Annual : .40/- Annual : .40/- Annual : `̀̀̀̀.40/- Annual : .40/- Annual : .40/- Annual : .40/- Annual : .40/- Annual : `̀̀̀̀.30/-.30/-.30/-.30/-.30/-

Drafts should be drawn in favour ofAll India State Bank Officers' Federation

and mailed toand mailed toand mailed toand mailed toand mailed toThe General Secretary

ALL INDIA STATE BANK OFFICERS' FEDERATIONState Bank Buildings, St.Mark's Road, Bangalore-560001State Bank Buildings, St.Mark's Road, Bangalore-560001State Bank Buildings, St.Mark's Road, Bangalore-560001State Bank Buildings, St.Mark's Road, Bangalore-560001State Bank Buildings, St.Mark's Road, Bangalore-560001

: 080 22270619: Fax : 080 22214959/22214956 : 080 22270619: Fax : 080 22214959/22214956 : 080 22270619: Fax : 080 22214959/22214956 : 080 22270619: Fax : 080 22214959/22214956 : 080 22270619: Fax : 080 22214959/22214956E-mail: aisbofbangalore@gmail.com

Website: http://www.aisbof.org

Edited and Published by Sri. Y. Sudarshan on behalf of AISBOF, SBI Buildings, St.Mark's Road,Bangalore - 560 001. Printed by Sri C.A. Ramachandra Murthy at Anant Art Printery, Bangalore.

Registered news paper

To:

If Undelivered please return to:

ALL INDIA STATE BANK OFFICERS' FEDERATION

ST.MARK'S ROAD, BANGALORE - 560 001

RNI. No. 36617 / 81 OFFICERS' CAUSE TOTAL NO. OF PAGES 12 MARCH - 2015REGN.NUMBER.KRNA/BGE/202/2015-2017.REGD. NUMBER.527/MDS-POSTED ON15TH OF EVERY MONTH AT BANGALORE PSO,MYSORE ROAD, BANGALORE 560 026

Officers' Cause, March - 2015 12

the roof level. The society had already spent anamount of `̀̀̀̀ 1.75 crores towards the project, andapplied for a loan of `̀̀̀̀ 1.5 to 2. Crore from the: Bankwhich is under process. They also propose tocommence the school in the academic year2015-2016 and hence to complete the building asearly as possible.

In order to meet the cost of the project the society isalso seeking donation from all well wishers. It is alsoproposed to put up the name of those donors whocontribute `̀̀̀̀ 5000/- and above, in a prominentlocation at the school and that a class room will benamed after those who contribute `̀̀̀̀ 75000/- andabove. The society is having their account with StateThe society is having their account with StateThe society is having their account with StateThe society is having their account with StateThe society is having their account with StateBank of India Basaveswaranagar Branch BangaloreBank of India Basaveswaranagar Branch BangaloreBank of India Basaveswaranagar Branch BangaloreBank of India Basaveswaranagar Branch BangaloreBank of India Basaveswaranagar Branch Bangalore.

The A/c No. 10169990535A/c No. 10169990535A/c No. 10169990535A/c No. 10169990535A/c No. 10169990535 & the IFS Code beingIFS Code beingIFS Code beingIFS Code beingIFS Code beingSBIN0009049.SBIN0009049.SBIN0009049.SBIN0009049.SBIN0009049.

The donation is exempted under Sec.80 G of thedonation is exempted under Sec.80 G of thedonation is exempted under Sec.80 G of thedonation is exempted under Sec.80 G of thedonation is exempted under Sec.80 G of theIncome TIncome TIncome TIncome TIncome Tax Aax Aax Aax Aax Actctctctct.

We therefore appeal to all our well wishers tocontribute to their mite towards the Srigandha KavalSchool project, of the SBI Officers’ AssociationEducation Society and make the ambitious projectof the society, a great success.

"OFFICERS' CAUSE" MARCH 2015"OFFICERS' CAUSE" MARCH 2015"OFFICERS' CAUSE" MARCH 2015"OFFICERS' CAUSE" MARCH 2015"OFFICERS' CAUSE" MARCH 2015(FORM IV RULE 8)(FORM IV RULE 8)(FORM IV RULE 8)(FORM IV RULE 8)(FORM IV RULE 8)

1. Place of publication : Bangalore -560 001.

2. Period of the Publication : Monthly

3. Printer’s Name : Shri C.A.Ramachandra Murthy Whether citizen of India ? : Yes Address : Anant Art Printery,

T-143, 15th Main,Jayanagar T Block,Bangalore-560 041.

4. Publisher’s Name : Shri Y. Sudarshan Whether citizen of India ? : Yes Address : SBI Buildings,

St. Mark's Road,Bangalore-560 011.

5. Editor’s Name : Shri Y. Sudarshan Whether citizen of India ? : Yes Address : SBI Buildings,

St. Mark's Road,Bangalore-560 011.

6. Names and addresses of : All India State Bank individuals who own the Newspaper Officers’ Federation and partners or shareholders holding State Bank Bldg., more than one percent of the St. Mark’s Road, total capital BANGALORE-560 001.

I. Y. Sudarshan, hereby declare that the particulars given above aretrue to the best of my knowledge and belief.

Bangalore (Y. SUDARSHAN)15/03/2015 GENERAL SECRETARY

LICENSED TO POST WITHOUT PREPAYMENT. LICENCE NUMBER. WPP/82