Unlike in the west, there is a heavy burden on Indian banks to park 20.50 percent of their funds or deposits in SLR. The limit is too high and restricts banks’ ability to lend to the productive sectors of the economy. While this gives the government a ready market for borrowing, this encourages lazy banking. With payments banks, this scenario would change if they become successful. By definition, payments banks are allowed to accept deposits, but not lend. They have to compulsorily invest in government securities. If payments bank becomes successful and large, the government’s G-sec requirement will be absorbed by them, removing the burden on commercial banks.
The Reserve Bank of India is considering suggestions from people across all walks of life to put Indian luminaries other than M K Gandhi on our currency notes. Among the recommendations are Dr. B R Ambedkar, Chhatrapati Shivaji, Jawaharlal Nehru and Indira Gandhi.
Mahatma has monopolized our currency notes. He has been smiling at us — one section believes that given his ascetic lifestyle, he wouldn’t have cared much to be on the notes— from 1987 when he first made his appearance on a Rs 500 note. From 1996, he has been on all the denominations.
RTI activist Manoranjan Roy tried to find out how and when the Mahatma took pride of place, but he drew a blank, with the RBI telling him that no document recorded the change.
The recommendation to print the image of Mahatma Gandhi on the watermark/banknotes was made by the Central Board of RBI in 1993 which was later approved by the Government of India.
Roy felt that the RBI wasn’t doing justice to a country as diverse as India by not showcasing anything else on its currency bills.
But RBI’s ex-governor BimalJalan says printing a particular leader’s image is decided by the sentiments of the respective nations or states and India is no exception.
Critics opined “RBI move to have more political leaders on currency notes can trigger needless acrimony”
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