Hyderabad : All India Bank Employees’ Association (AIBEA) has termed the Union Budget 2022-23, presented by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday, as disappointing and said some of the important issues confronting the banking sector remain unaddressed. The main problem facing the Banks, particularly the Public Sector Banks (PSBs) is the huge bad loans created on account of the loan delinquency by the big borrowers and Corporates. We have been demanding that the Central Government should publish the list of the names of the loan defaulters and this has not been considered in this Budget also, AIBEA General Secretary Ch Venkatachalam said in a release late on Tuesday night. He said as per RBI definition, there are more than 1000 willful defaulters who have taken huge loans and are deliberately not repaying the loans. Amount involves in these willfully defaulted loans is more than Rs. 1,10,000 crore. We have been demanding that tough action should be taken on these defaulters for criminal offence, instead of civil proceedings. But there has been no mention about any action on these willful defaulters in this Budget. Mr Venkatachalam said we have also been emphasising that the focus should be to recover the huge corporate bad loans by taking stringent measures but the Centre is focusing on resolution of bad loans. In the name of resolution, huge sacrifices have been made by the banks and the defaulters escape from any penal action, he said. The AIBEA General Secretary said these bad loans are being taken over by various corporate companies at cheap rates even to the extent of 50 to 90 per cent. In this Budget also, the Government is talking of resolution of bad loans and not recovery. This will further hurt the interest of the banks. Again, instead of taking penal measures to recover the bad loans, the Government has approved the starting of the Bad Bank and many huge bad loans are being transferred to this Bad Bank at discounted price, again at the cost of the profits of the Banks. Thus, the top union leader said, it is very clear that the Government wants to help the corporate defaulters at the cost of PSBs and the savings of the common people that are kept as Deposits in these Banks. In this Budget also the Government has reiterated their policy privatisation, disinvestment and monetisation of public sector. This is most retrograde and hence the trade unions and people at large have to intensify the struggles against these measures. The BJP-led NDA Government has also decided to privatise PSBs and AIBEA has already decided that such measures will be reacted by countrywide struggles and strikes. Another issue is that already PSBs are undertaking all the schemes of the government involving huge volume of work. Further schemes are being added which will further add to the work pressure in the Banks. But the Banks are reluctant to recruit new hands and provide adequate staff in the branches. If the Government does not ensure that adequate manpower is provided in the Banks, AIBEA has decided to launch exclusive agitations on this vital issue. Regarding exemption of contribution to National Pension Scheme in Banks under Sec. 80CCD, AIBEA has taken up the matter with Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, he added.
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