RBI employees to go on mass casual leave on November 19

MUMBAI: Reserve Bank of India (RBI) employees will go on a day’s mass casual leave on November 19 to protest the government’s move to take away from the central bank some of its vital operations “in the name of the draft financial code and legislative reforms”.

“The finance ministry is reportedly giving final shape to shift government’s debt management functions from RBI to the proposed Public Debt Management Agency (PDMA), which will also henceforth function as depository of government securities (G-Sec), thus taking away from RBI some vital operations having relevance to money market as well,” it added.

Samir Ghosh, convenor of the United Forum of RBI Officers and Employees, told reporters that the mass leave call for agitation has been given to press for saving the RBI and settling of pension issues.

The draft Indian Finance Code (IFC) has proposed re-aligning of the powers of the RBI vis-a-vis the finance ministry through the composition and functioning of the monetary policy committee that would be responsible for setting rates.

This is a big shift from the current practice where the RBI governor decides on the interest rate, although he consults the Technical Advisory Committee on policy rates that includes the Bank’s deputy governors as well as experts and economists.

The RBI staff has also been demanding improvement in pension conditions, under which pensioners are not entitled to periodic updation of pension.

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Source:TimesofIndia

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