Power of Transfer Is Misused By Top Bankers To Award or To Punish Juniors

Following are Few Links to Clear how bank management use to misuse Powers of Transfer and Powers on Giving Marks in Interview to award or  to Punish an officer strictly as per  whims and caprices of top officials 

In public sector banks, transfers take place purely on the whims and fancies of top officials. Flattery and bribery play the key role and predominant role in transfer and not only transfers but also in all promotion processes. I have been harping on this blatant issue since long but none at top echelon gave value to my views. Performance and caliber of an officer is of no significance and it was never in the minds of top officials.Today's Historic Supreme Court historic judgement is enough to  substantiate my views expressed in these blogs. 

I hope at least now bank management will take the lesson and modify their Human Resource Policy and try to be perfectly honest in its execution in real sense and in true spirit.

It is astonishing that despite clear cut instruction by Ministry of Finance in Jun 2012 that banks should not transfer officers after June month and if transfer after June month  is unavoidable , the same should be approved by the board. But Banks are still issuing transfer orders violating the guidelines without keeping in mind even the torture meted out to officer due to frequent arbitrary and whimsical transfers.

It is therefore desirable that Ministry of Finance should  verify whether guidelines issued by them are followed in true spirit on ground level. If there is one or two violations, the same may be condoned. But if there are hundreds of violations in each bank every year, MOF should either punish top officials or withdraw their guidelines and give them free hand as they are using free hand to transfer IAS and IPS officers in the country to take revenge from their opponents.

It is however undeniably true that if the verdict of Supreme Court is not put into action in true sense in all government departments, there is no power on earth which can stop corruption and which can ensure safety of bank and health of banks health.

So far as oral instructions from top bosses are concerned , it is open secret that majority of  high value proposals originates from branches only when there is huge pressure , oral orders from top bosses to sanction loans to a person or businessman. Majority of promotions take place on the verbal recommendation of some powerful persons only and when any officer recommends anyone's name for promotion, marks are accordingly given in Interview by members of Interview panel. 

Even Supreme Court cannot stop such oral instruction. None of junior officers has courage to write down the oral instruction as advised Today by Supreme Court. 

Only God can express the true story of banks and government departments.

http://dkjain4970901092007.blogspot.in/2012/05/fresh-guideline-to-banks-on-promotion.html

http://dkjain4970901092007.blogspot.in/2012/05/fresh-guideline-to-banks-on-promotion.html

http://dkjain4970901092007.blogspot.in/2013/06/misuse-of-human-resource-in-bank.html


http://dkjain4970901092007.blogspot.in/2012/06/rbi-now-questions-hr-policies-of-public.html

Thursday, October 31, 2013

http://importantbankingnews.blogspot.in/2013/10/do-not-take-oral-instruction-from-your.html

Do Not Take Oral Instruction From Your Boss , Your Netas

SC to bureaucrats: Don't take oral instructions from netas-Times of India

Dhananjay Mahapatra, TNN | Oct 31, 2013, 12.52 PM IST

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Thursday drastically reduced political pressure on top bureaucrats by ruling that they must get an assured minimum tenure in posting.

"Fixed tenure of bureaucrats will promote professionalism, efficiency and good governance," the SC bench observed. "Much of the deterioration in the functioning of bureaucracy is due to political interference," the SC said.

The SC also directed the Centre and state governments to pass an order within three months on giving fixed tenure to civil servants.

The apex court also empowered top bureaucrats to record in writing the oral instruction of political bosses on files so as not to be hounded later on for a particular decision.

The SC said that such recording of political instructions by bureaucrats will also help in promoting transparency and will allow general public to access correct information.

The verdict, which is on the line of apex court's earlier order on police reforms for giving fixed tenure to senior police officers in Prakash Singh case, will go a long way in giving freedom and independence to the functioning of bureaucracy.

The judgement comes close on the heels of controversies surrounding Ashok Khemka, IAS officerof Haryana cadre over DLF-Robert Vadra land deal, and Durga Sakhti Nagpal, UP cadre IAS officer, who was targeted by the state government for alleged misconduct.

The apex court passed the verdict on a PIL filed by 83 retired bureaucrats including former cabinet secretary T S R Subramanian seeking its directions for insulating bureaucracy from political interference.

The petitioners also include former Indian ambassador to the US Abid Hussain, former chief election commissioner N Gopalaswami, former election commissioner T S Krishna Murthy, former IPS officer Ved Prakash Marwah, and former CBI directors Joginder Singh and D R Kaarthikeyan.

"This is a landmark judgement. Public servants are not private servants," Subramanian said.

"Today faith in our Constitution has been reaffirmed...our faith in the strength of democracy has been reaffirmed because the highest court of the land has recognised the problems," he said, adding "malgovernance affected people and quality of administration".

Krishna Murthy lauded the verdict, saying "Good governance is critical to good quality democracy.

"Most of us have seen in our career how most of the transfers, promotions, postings and foreign assignments, all of them are decided on whimsical basis very often," he said.

The PIL had alleged that at present, the system of transfers, postings, promotions, disciplinary action and other personnel matters pertaining to the members of civil services are ad-hoc and non-transparent.

"There is an urgent need to make the civil servants accountable, sensitive and responsive. If this is achieved, there will be across-the-spectrum benefits...

"Transfers are often used as instruments of reward and punishment, with officials being frequently transferred on the whims and caprices as well as the personal needs of local politicians and other vested interests. Officers, especially those in the All India Services serving in state governments, have no stability or security of tenure," it had said.

The PIL had also said the civil servants at all levels should be given a minimum three-year fixed tenure on each post to foster functional freedom and independence.

Any premature transfer should specifically be authorised by the 'civil service board/commission' on specific circumstances to be brought out in writing, it had said.

At least four high-powered panels made recommendations for freeing the bureaucracy from political interference but the government had not taken any concrete step for implementation of the reforms suggested by them, it had said.

"Change of government invariably leads to new rounds of transfers as the incoming group of political leaders seeks to reward supporters and put its "own" staff in key positions.

"Moreover, the 'transfer industry' is backed by entrenched and powerful vested interests as frequent transfers generate huge amounts of black money for corrupt officials and politicians...," it had said.
The PIL had said that there should be an independent, high-powered and statutory 'civil services board' in each state which should process proposals of postings and transfers.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/SC-to-bureaucrats-Dont-take-oral-instructions-from-netas/articleshow/24978551.cms?

Once Again Arbitrary Change OF Promotion Conditions

FinMin relaxes norms for top jobs in govt banks

As per new guidelines, candidate needs to complete one year as executive director to become eligible for chairman and managing direct--------Business Standard

The finance ministry has relaxed the norms for selection of chairman and managing director in public sector banks which will now allow executive directors who were appointed merely couple of months back to appear in the interviews.

Interestingly, the government has decided to interview the candidates as early as this week for vacancies that will arise not before August 2014 – after the general elections.

According to norms, candidate needs to complete one year as executive director to become eligible for chairman and managing director. However, the criteria for residual service of two years of a candidate have not been tweaked.

The finance ministry has also seems to have kept the communication made by the department of personnel and training (DoPT) conveying the observations and directions of the Appointment Committee of the Cabinet regarding appointment of top jobs in government banks and financial institutions – in abeyance and proceeded with the selection process.

Among others things, suggestion was made to revisit the requirement of residual service and introduction of fixed tenure in public sector banks.

The concept of fixed tenure has been introduced in State Bank of India (SBI) by giving the new chairperson fixed tenure. Arundhati Bhattacharya, who was appointment as SBI’s chairperson earlier this month, was given a fixed tenure of three year.

The department of financial services were asked to examine if the same system could be extended to all public sector banks.

The finance ministry’s decision to relax the norms and conduct interviews early is also snowballing into a political controversy with a Shiv Sena Member of Parliament and a member of the standing committee of finance Chandrakant Khaire, writing to the finance ministry highlighting hastily selection process of CMDs in public sector banks before the finalization of the ACC guidelines.

While the government has decided to interview the candidates now, but clearance from the central vigilance commission (CVC) could not be received at this stage as such clearances are only received couple of months prior to the appointment.

A selection committee will interview 19 executive directors of various public sector banks for six positions that will fall vacant in the next financial year 2014-15. In the present financial year, chairman of four public sector banks will retire.

The government is yet to fill up vacancies in two public sector banks – Andhra Bank and Bank of Maharashtra where the chairman had retired in the last couple of months.

The selection committee is headed by Reserve Bank of India (RBI) governor Raghuram Rajan and includes officials from finance ministry and academic world. According to banking industry sources, the new RBI governor is likely to break the tradition of sending his nominee (which is a deputy governor) and would be himself present during the interviews and conduct them.

The interviews will be conducted at State Bank of India head office in Mumbai, and not in New Delhi as earlier practiced.

Highlights

Fin Min to interview EDs this week for CMD vacancies arising only after August 2014

CMDs of six public sector banks to retire in 2014-15

This may be the first time RBI governor to conduct the interviews

Unlike SBI, no fixed tenure for chairman in public sector banks

Appointment process in govt banks may turn into a political slugfest

http://www.business-standard.com/article/finance/finmin-relaxes-norms-for-top-jobs-in-govt-banks-113102800736_1.html

Also Read  Following Blogs which relates to similar arbitrary change in rules to accommodate persons of their choice

http://dkjain4970901092007.blogspot.in/2012/10/selection-of-ed-and-cmd-of-public.html

http://dkjain4970901092007.blogspot.in/2013/09/see-how-top-executives-get-promotion-in.html

http://dkjain4970901092007.blogspot.in/2013/06/misuse-of-human-resource-in-bank.html

Finmin rushes with bank appointments-ET-28.10.2013

NEW DELHI: The finance ministry is showing unprecedented speed in selecting new bank chiefs for the next financial year, although the first vacancy does not arise until August 2014.

While it is unclear what has prompted the rush to conduct interviews, sources suggested that the ministry is keen to finalize the appointments before the next general elections. Bankers, however, fear that the exercise may go waste if the next government decides to review the decisions of UPA-II. The interviews are technically irrelevant as the Central Vigilance Commission has in the past frowned upon the idea of giving a blanket clearance several months in advance. But, that is not the only reason for controversy.

What has raised eyebrows in banking circles is the unusual cut-off date — August 6. Typically, the date is either the last or the first day of a month. Of those in the fray, only eight would have been in contention if the government had not decided to rework the appointment criteria.

Under the existing policy only those with at least two years to go for retirement are eligible to be interviewed.

If that wasn't enough there is the additional complication of P Pradeep Kumar being the sole candidate to be interviewed for the post of State Bank of India managing director, a post that is vacant after Arundhati Bhattacharya was appointed chairman. In case of the other public sector banks, 19 executive directors have been called for interview by the selection committee headed by RBI governor Raghuram Rajan for over half-a-dozen bank appointments.

On top of the list is PNB executive director Usha Ananthasubramaniam, who is widely tipped to take over as the first chairman of Bharatiya Mahila Bank, that will start operations next month. Among the jobs that are up for grabs as those of chairman and managing director of Canara Bank and Bank of Baroda, Indian Overseas Bank, Oriental Bank of Commerce, Vijaya Bank and UBI. PNB CMD K R Kamath's term is also due to end in October 2014 but he can get one more year. The first two vacancies, at BoB and IOB, arise the chairmen retire on July 31.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/business/india-business/Finmin-rushes-with-bank-appointments/articleshow/24791614.cms