Abolition of BSRBs delayed further

By Our Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI, AUG. 1. The Union Finance Ministry has missed another deadline for one of the budget proposals announced by Mr. Yashwant Sinha. The Minister had set July 31 as the date for the abolition of the Banking Service Recruitments Boards (BSRBs), to be replaced by a system of individual recruitments by the banks themselves.

The proposal to abolish the BSRBs was part of Mr. Sinha's initiative to strengthen and provide flexibility to the managements of the public sector banks so that they could face the competition from the private and foreign banks.

The system of hiring by individual banks was meant to encourage ``talent hunting'' by them for specialised operations which have come into vogue with the opening up of the banking sector.

At present there are 15 BSRBs and one Central Recruitment Board of the State Bank of India group which conduct examinations in clerical cadre, probationary officers and specialists officers for recruitment in public sector banks and regional rural banks. The number of persons employed by the BSRBs are 184 and the monthly expenditure on them is around Rs. 26.64 lakhs.

However, as of now, the Finance Ministry has been unable to work out a new system to replace the existing BSRBs, though various alternatives are said to be under consideration. Mr. Sinha had announced in the Budget that these boards would be abolished on or before July 31 this year, in association with the Reserve Bank of India.

There have also been a spate of protests against the move to abolish the BSRBs, with hundreds of letters being sent to the Prime Minister and the Finance Minister pleading for the continuation of such boards.

The examinations conducted by the boards have been one large source of an employment possibility that young graduates availed of since the recruitment process was reportedly fair and equitable without much influence peddling.

Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Section  : National
Previous : Hizb ultras to be taken to Delhi
Next     : Education Ministers to attend SAHMAT meet