Central Office-Ajoy Bhavan, 15 Indrajit Gupta Marg,New Delhi-110 002
Telephone : 23235546,23235058, Fax : 23235543
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PRESS STATEMENT 6TH Sep 2011
The central secretariat of the Communist Party of India (CPI)
has issued the following statement to the press
NEW BANK LICENSING POLICY RETROGRADE
Recently Reserve Bank of India has announced its Draft Guidelines on the proposed New Bank Licensing Policy. This is nothing new but a part of the Government’s efforts to liberalise the banking sector and encourage private capital in the Banks. It is an open surrender to the pressures of IMF and World Bank and a naked step to appease the industrial houses and big business companies in India.
At the time of independence, all the Banks in India were in Private Sector and many of them belonging to one or the other industrial house. They never contributed to the basic economic development and were confined to using the Banks to build their own empires. There was so much of abuse and misuse of people’s money. Hence CPI demanded nationalisation of Banks and bringing Banks under Government’s control and fought for it, inside and outside the parliament.
Simultaneously, the All India Bank Employees Association also conducted powerful struggles. Ultimately, in 1969 Mrs. Indira Gandhi took the bold decision to nationalise the major Banks. Since then in the last four decades, these nationalised banks have played a significant role in catering to the needs of the economy and the common man. The contribution of our nationalised Banks in India’s growth story is remarkable and commendable.
But ever since the Government embarked upon their economic reforms agenda from 1991-1992, nationalised Banks have been the target. In 1993, the law was amended to allow 49% private capital in these Banks. Today there is so much of intrusion of Private Capital – both domestic and foreign. There are pressures and attempts to further reduce the Government’s capital in the Nationalised Banks. Recently the Planning Commission suggested reduction of Government’s capital in our Banks to less than 50%. This is nothing but naked advocacy for privatising the Banks.
Earlier, some new private Banks were allowed to do banking business with all fanfare but many of them could not survive. Now comes the policy to hand over banking business to industrial houses with a meager Capital of Rs.500 Crores. Government has not learnt lessons from the recent global economic crisis in which hundreds of private banks have collapsed. World over, the experience of industrial houses running Banks has been bitter.
But the Government is so keen to hand over banking business to these industrial houses unmindful of its implications and consequences.
More than ten lacs of bank employees recently went on strike protesting against this policy.
Communist Party of India opposes this retrograde policy and calls upon the Government to abandon this idea in national interest.
(S.S. Bhusari)
Office Secretary