RBI Director On UBI Board Changed

RBI director on UBI board changed-The Hindu

The Union Finance Ministry announced, on Tuesday, that it had made changes to the board of United Bank of India with regard to the nominee director of the Reserve Bank of India

It has now nominated Parvathy V Sundaram as an independent non-executive director on the UBI board. The 54-year old Chief General Manager of RBI replaces Surekha Marandi of RBI as the regulator’s representative on the UBI board .

The beleaguered bank sent shock waves last month after reporting a Rs. 1238 crore loss in the third quarter of 2013-14. Its problems are traced to its mounting bad loans to the agricultural sector and also some medium and large industries including Kingfisher.

The state of affairs was exposed following a forensic audit by the RBI.

‘Like banks, politicians need to regain trust’-Hindu Business Line

MUMBAI, MARCH 18:  

As vehicles slow down at the Haji Ali traffic intersection in South Mumbai, Meera Sanyal calls out to the driver of a van pulling up close to her. “Aam Aadmi Party ke liye vote karna,” she says, and they smile and coyly nod.

The banker-turned-politician then gets back into a silver-grey Nano and begins to explain her party’s philosophy and the mood on the ground.

Anti-political movement

There is a general anti-political movement across the world, ironically similar to the movement against banks where people say there is a lack of credibility and trust, she says. “Banks are critical to economies... It’s the same thing with politics. It’s just that we need to re-calibrate just like banks have to regain the trust, politicians have to regain the credibility of their constituency…,” she adds.

This is Sanyal’s second outing into the political battle-field. And unlike 2009, where she was an independent candidate from South Mumbai, now she is AAP’s candidate.

Dressed in an off-white sari and juggling political and personal commitments, Sanyal, 52, says people who earlier labelled her as ‘Malabar Hill ki memsab,’ are shocked to see her take padyatras around the constituency. Sanyal’s opponents include sitting Congress MP Milind Deora and MNS’ Bala Nandgaonkar.

Anti-business

Though Sanyal may have dealt with business houses in her earlier capacity as the head of RBS, her party is sending shivers down the spine of the business community, as they take corruption head-on. And though AAP candidates say they are not anti-business, their economic agenda, for instance, is not well articulated.

AAP is against dishonest businesses and crony capitalism, she says, adding that the honest businessman suffers because of corruption, multiple taxes and poor regulation.

On the contentious foreign direct investment in retail, she says, it is supposed to bring down prices for a consumer, increase realisation for the farmer and provide choice. “AAP is not against FDI per se… but what they are saying is provide us the empirical evidence that FDI in retail is doing this and if we do have it, we are happy to revisit our stand. So it’s a very reasoned argument.”

Foreign capital

But to invite foreign capital into India, “we need to create those conditions that foreigners are attracted to, the rule of law and no going back and reversing past judgement, transparency, accountability, and this is all good for investment in general. So my view and the AAP view is to fix the structural issues which make it possible for Indians to flourish.”

Highlighting the country’s strengths, the well-travelled banker says few people in the world are as entrepreneurial and hardworking as Indians. “I was leading a bank with a BPO of 2,500 people in Mumbai and through the floods, bomb blasts, we never lost a day’s work…not one day, through the floods 400 people slept in the office because they know someone around the world is dependent on them. That’s the spirit of Mumbai,” she points out.

Sanyal’s entry into politics was triggered by the 26/11 terror attack on the city. Looking to woo a constituency that is possibly the country’s most affluent, even as it has a significant slum population, she says, the concerns of people are universal in terms of good education, gainful employment and affordable housing.