Annual Report

IX.1 The function of human resource development in the Reserve Bank is driven by the goal of enhancing the efficiency of the organisation by nurturing a motivated staff in an organisational culture that facilitates a congruence between personal goals with those of the institution, thereby fostering a sense of pride and belonging. During 2004-05, the Reserve Bank continued with its efforts to upgrade its human resources (HR) to face the challenges arising out of globalisation and advances in technology. Human resource development initiatives in the Reserve Bank focused primarily on designing appropriate HR systems, processes and practices, capacity building to bridge HR gaps in functional areas, developing skills, fostering personal and professional growth and drawing out qualities of leadership and team building. Concomitant measures were initiated to ensure transparency in operations and to improve customer service.

IX.2 This Section describes the approach of the Reserve Bank towards human capital management and various initiatives undertaken thereunder. It also covers various measures taken to improve the quality of customer service and the interface with the general public, including information dissemination and database services. Finally, the Section presents an overview of the meetings of the Central Board and its Committees, appointment/retirement of executives and visits of important Committees and foreign dignitaries to the Reserve Bank.

IX.3 Three training colleges of the Reserve Bank, viz., the Bankers’ Training College (BTC), Mumbai, the

Reserve Bank Staff College (RBSC), Chennai and the College of Agricultural Banking (CAB), Pune cater to the training needs of the officers of the Reserve Bank and the banking industry. The BTC was established to train the personnel of commercial banks and other financial institutions in India. The College caters mainly to the training requirements of middle and senior level officers. The RBSC was established to impart training to the Reserve Bank’s own officers in junior and middle management cadres and specialised development of officers in the senior management cadre. The CAB was originally set up with a focus on training the senior and middle level officers of rural and co-operative credit sectors. In recent years, the CAB has diversified into areas relating to non-banking financial companies, human resource management and Information Technology (IT). An In-house Working Group was constituted during the year to review the overall functioning of the three training colleges, their target groups and other related matters with a view to enhancing the utility of the training programmes, avoiding unnecessary costs and bringing about improvements in their functioning.

IX.4 The four Zonal Training Centres (ZTCs) focus exclusively on training of Class III and IV staff of the Reserve Bank. The total number of participants in programmes conducted by all the Colleges and ZTCs increased during 2004-05 (Table 9.1)

IX.5 The Bankers’ Training College is a premier training institution in the field of banking. It imparts high quality training to a large pool of professionals

from the financial sector. The endeavour of the BTC is to position itself as a training institute for senior bankers and to provide a forum for top executives of the financial sector to exchange views and ideas. The College conducted fifteen new programmes/ conferences/seminars/workshops during the year. The new programmes covered marketing strategies for banking products, system auditors and information system security managers, strategic management and balance sheet of banks, financing of services and small and medium enterprises (SMEs), issues in infrastructure financing, international banking and IT-oriented management information systems (MIS). The College conducted three collaborative programmes with the Kenya School of Monetary Studies at Nairobi in the areas of information security, business continuity planning and disaster recovery, audit of computerised accounting systems and dealership and foreign exchange operations for 63 officers of central banking authorities of Tanzania, Zambia, Malawi and Kenya. The College conducted four programmes in collaboration with the Indian Institute of Bank Management (IIBM), Guwahati on investment in Government securities, credit risk and NPA management, motivation, leadership, team building and risk based approach to internal audit. The College also conducted in-company programmes for officers of the National Bank of Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) and the Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI), Indian Foreign Service (IFS) probationers, UCO Bank, Corporation Bank and ICICI Bank. In all, 70 foreign participants from Sri Lanka, Bhutan, Uganda, Iran, Bangladesh and Nepal attended 20 training programmes at the College. The College has entered its Golden Jubilee year in 2005.

IX.6 The Reserve Bank Staff College caters primarily to the training and development needs of officers of the Reserve Bank. The College has played a crucial role in updating the skills of officers to face the challenges of regime changes and introduction of new technologies. This has assumed an added significance in the post Optional Early Retirement Scheme (OERS) scenario. The focus of the RBSC continues to be on programmes for probationers and middle level officers. As per the direction of the College Advisory Committee (CAC), a Committee was constituted to review course design, coverage and methodology of the Induction Programme for direct recruits in Grade B (Chairman : Shri V.K. Sharma). On the basis of the recommendations of the

Committee, a HR-oriented training structure for the probationary officers has been put in place. A Committee comprising two Executive Directors and a Chief General Manager was also constituted to review the performance of the College and monitor the implementation of the decisions taken by the CAC in a time bound manner.

IX.7 The College started its own website, enabling distance learning through an interactive process of questions and answers on central banking and related areas. The College also started a quarterly newsletter ‘RBSC News and Views’ for circulation amongst the participants of the various programmes at the College and the first issue was released by the Governor on July 7, 2004. Faculty members of the College extended support to various institutions, viz., Indian Bank Management Academy (IMAGE), Chennai, Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Chennai, Agricultural Cooperative Staff Training Institute (ACSTI), Chennai, Indian Overseas Bank (IOB) Staff College, Chennai, and University of Madras. Five foreign participants from the central banks of Bhutan, Tanzania and Nepal attended three training programmes at the College. A team of 18 international participants from 14 countries attending the International Training Programme on Training Methods and Skills for Managers at the National Institute of Small Industries Extension Training (NISIET), Hyderabad paid a visit to the College to observe the academic and organisational aspects of training in the Reserve Bank.

IX.8 The College of Agricultural Banking conducted training and interactive sessions in areas such as non-banking financial sector, human resources management and information technology, besides its ‘niche’ areas of agriculture and rural banking. The College conducted 12 new programmes on risk management, regulatory compliance for urban cooperative banks (UCBs), customer relationship management, financing small and medium enterprises (SMEs), workshop for State Level Bankers Committee (SLBC) conveners of commercial banks, financing of export oriented agriculture, emotional intelligence, infrastructural financing, understanding rural customers, issues and concerns in retail banking, investment management and legal issues for bankers. The College has been selected by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) to conduct a series of 21 programmes on Human Development and State Finances and the first of such programmes was conducted in April 2005. The

College conducted four customised training programmes for officers of the Khadi and Village Industries Corporation, one for the National Institute of Financial Management, one for officers of Bihar Co-operative Bank Ltd. and one for General Electrical (G.E) Countrywide at Gurgaon as per their specific requirements.

IX.9 The College also conducted collaborative programmes with EXIM Bank, Regional Training Centre of NABARD and Bankers’ Institute for Rural Development (BIRD) and one outstation programme with the IIBM. It undertook a study on cost of funds and lending rates of UCBs at the instance of Urban Banks Department of the Reserve Bank. The College also extended faculty support to institutions such as the National Institute of Bank Management (NIBM), Pune and Vaikunth Mehta National Institute of Co-operative Management (VAMNICOM). The college conducted 14 programmes on off-site surveillance application package for officers of UCBs in Gujarat, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Kerala. Ten foreign participants from Zimbabwe, Sri Lanka, the Philippines and Nepal attended various training programmes conducted at the College during the year.

IX.10 Zonal Training Centres (ZTCs) conduct programmes on functional areas, information technology and behavioural areas for Class III and IV employees of the Reserve Bank. Apart from regular programmes at their premises, ZTCs also conducted off-site programmes on noting and drafting, basic computers and customer service. A programme on Self Development through Neuro Linguistic Programme (NLP) was organised at ZTC, Belapur and the participants were drawn from the Reserve Bank’s offices throughout India. ZTCs added out-bound segments as part of their curricula in a number of programmes to encourage team spirit and group learning. ZTCs also extended their services to the staff outside the Reserve Bank. Six staff members of the Royal Monetary Authority of Bhutan attended a programme on currency management and seven more staff attended the programme on Effective Management Office Life conducted by ZTC, Kolkata. The NABARD has been deputing its Class III and IV employees for the investment and retirement planning programme conducted by ZTCs on a cost basis. ZTC, Kolkata conducted a base level induction programme for participants from Bihar State Co-operative Bank at

Patna on a consolidated cost basis. The programme was designed and developed in consultation with the CAB, Pune. All regional offices and central office departments were advised to put in place a system of assessment of the impact of the training on the work situation in respect of Class III employees who underwent training at the ZTCs.

IX.11 During 2004-05, 521 officers were deputed by the Reserve Bank to participate in training programmes, seminars and conferences organised by external management/banking institutions in India (Table 9.2). The areas of training included human resources management, risk management, security, international banking, foreign trade, labour laws and micro finance. The Reserve Bank deputed 171 officers to attend training courses, seminars, conferences and workshops conducted by banking and financial institutions and multilateral institutions in 26 countries. The areas of training covered, inter alia, banking supervision, derivatives, risk management, financial programming and policies, central bank accounting, monetary policy and operations, finance for agriculture, rural development and macroeconomic management.

IX.12 Four officers were selected in 2004-05 under the Golden Jubilee Scholarship Scheme for higher studies abroad - one officer for pursuing post doctoral studies as a visiting scholar in the Department of Economics at MIT, Massachusetts; two officers for pursuing studies towards Masters in Policy Management and Finance at the Georgetown University and George Washington University, Washington, respectively; and, one officer for undertaking research on macroeconomics of banking at the University of California, Riverside, USA on an exchange visitor programme. In all, 79 officers have been selected under this scheme since its inception in 1986.

IX.13 Thirteen officers availed the benefit of different schemes for pursuing higher studies during the year. Besides, one officer completed research under the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) Visiting Fellowship Programme - 2004. Another officer has taken up an assignment at the BIS to undertake research project on Central Bank Governance.

IX.14 The Reserve Bank introduced a scheme for deputation of Class III and IV staff for training in external institutions in India in human resource development areas such as self development, motivation, behavioural aspects and time management.

IX.15 The Reserve Bank continued to provide incentives to staff members to acquire qualifications in the field of computers. In order to improve the skills of officers in the use of computers, 64 officers were imparted training at institutions such as National Institute of Bank Management (NIBM), Pune; Management Development Institute (MDI), Gurgaon; Xavier Labour Relations Institute (XLRI), Jamshedpur; and Institute for Development and Research in Banking Technology (IDRBT), Hyderabad.

IX.16 During 2004-05, nine officials from Sri Lanka, Thailand, Nigeria, Bhutan and Uganda were provided study attachments at the Reserve Bank’s Central Office departments. Interface sessions were held with senior officers of the Central Office departments for the participants of Long Defence Management Course conducted by the College of Defence Management, Secunderabad; participants of the International Programme in Banking and Finance organised by NIBM, Pune; participants of Naval Higher Command Course conducted by College of Naval Warfare, Mumbai; senior defence officials on Economy, Science and Technology Tour under the aegis of the National Defence College, New Delhi; and MBA students from the University of Texas, Austin. As a part of the orientation programme of the Federation of Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FICCI), youth interns visited the Reserve Bank on the eve of Pravasi Bhartiya Divas. 30 officials from key public institutions in Singapore visited the Reserve Bank for discussion on financial sector reforms.

IX.17 To enable employees to enrich their knowledge and skill base vis-à-vis their job requirements and to facilitate their career progression, a liberal incentive scheme that covers a large variety of professional courses/qualifications which are of relevance to the Reserve Bank’s functions was introduced in November 2004.

IX.18 A total of 27 students were selected for summer placements in the Reserve Bank during the year. These summer interns were drawn from diverse disciplines such as commerce, management, science, engineering and IT. The interns were placed predominantly in the Reserve Bank’s Central Office at Mumbai, while some were assigned to select Regional Offices. A number of students in specialised areas were also accommodated in different departments of the Reserve Bank outside the Scheme. From the current year, it has been decided to select a few students engaged in higher studies in universities abroad for summer placement in the Reserve Bank.

IX.19 In order to create awareness of Hindi among employees, training programmes in various fields under the Official Language Policy were intensified. The annual programme on use of Hindi formulated by the Government of India as well as recommendations of Hindi Salahkar Samiti of the Ministry of Finance, Government of India were implemented. Workshops were organised for senior officers in various Regional Offices. Workshops are also organised regularly for imparting training on bilingual computerisation to the Reserve Bank’s staff.

IX.20 In pursuance of the recommendations of the Committee on Style and Usage, Hindi templates were prepared and forwarded to all Regional Offices. The Hindi version of the Reserve Bank website was updated. The Rajbhasha Department launched an Intranet website which has a variety of Rajbhasha-related information. The Reserve Bank continued to publish its major publications bilingually. The Bankers’ Training College’s quarterly magazine entitled ';Banking Chintan Anuchintan'; has been able to carve out a niche for itself in banking circles. With a view to filling the gap in banking related Hindi publications, three books titled ';Jokhim Prabandhan';, ';Bank mein Labhpradta'; and ';Bank mein Corporate Governance'; were published and were well received. A booklet entitled ';Major provisions regarding Official Language for use of Heads of Departments, Regional Directors and Senior Management'; was published. A Committee was set up to review the booklet entitled ‘Banking Glossary (English-Hindi)’ published by the Reserve Bank.

IX.21 The Reserve Bank continued with its efforts to increase the use of Hindi in public sector banks (PSBs) and all-India financial institutions (FIs). Their progress was reviewed in the quarterly meetings of the Official Language Implementation Committee. The Reserve Bank organised bilingual and Hindi Griha Patrika competitions for PSBs and FIs during the year. An Inter-bank essay competition in Hindi was organised for employees of various banks. The Reserve Bank provided secretarial assistance to the Government of India, Ministry of Home Affairs in preparing results for the Indira Gandhi Official Language Award Scheme for the PSBs and FIs.

IX.22 Industrial relations in the Reserve Bank remained, by and large, peaceful during 2004-05. Meetings were held with the recognised Associations/ Federation of employees and officers on wage revision and on various other matters. The Associations/ Federation of employees helped in coordinating contributions from employees amounting to Rs.1.88 crore towards aid and rehabilitation of Tsunami-affected people which were remitted to the Prime Minister’s National Relief Fund.

IX.23 During 2004 (January-December), the Reserve Bank recruited 141 employees. Of this, 39 were in Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs) categories, constituting 27.7 per cent of total recruitment (Table 9.3)

IX.24 The total staff strength as on December 31, 2004 was 22,727 as compared with 24,994 a year

ago. Of the total staff, 20.3 per cent belonged to Scheduled Castes and 8.6 per cent belonged to Scheduled Tribes (Table 9.4).

IX.25 During 2004 (January-December), the Reserve Bank’s Liaison Officer for Scheduled Caste/ Scheduled Tribe employees conducted inspection of reservation rosters maintained at two offices, viz., Hyderabad and Jammu. Meetings between the Management and the representatives of the All India Reserve Bank Scheduled Castes/Scheduled Tribes and the Buddhist Federation were held on three occasions during the year to discuss issues relating to the implementation of reservation policy in the Reserve Bank. In accordance with the Central Government’s policy, the Reserve Bank provided reservation to Other Backward Classes (OBCs) effective September 8, 1993. The representation of OBCs (recruited after September 1993) in the Reserve Bank as on December 31, 2004 stood at 644. Of these, 152 were in Class I, 103 in Class III and 389 in Class IV.

IX.26 The total strength of ex-servicemen in the Reserve Bank at end-December 2004 stood at 135 in Class I, 416 in Class III and 915 in Class IV. The total number of physically handicapped employees in Class I, Class III and Class IV cadres in the Reserve Bank stood at 62, 267 and 130, respectively, at end-December 2004.

IX.27 Of the total staff 22.9 per cent was in Class I, 43.2 per cent in Class III and the remaining 33.9 per cent in Class IV (Table 9.5).

IX.28 The Department-wise deployment of the staff strength in the Reserve Bank in both Central and Regional Offices is given in Table 9.6.

IX.29 The Office-wise deployment of officers and staff reveals a concentration in Mumbai due to location of Central Office departments (Table 9.7).

IX.30 Pursuant to the guidelines laid down in the Supreme Court Judgment [Vishaka and Others V/s State of Rajasthan (1997) 6 SCC 241], a complaints redressal mechanism for prevention of sexual harassment of women at workplaces was put in place in the Reserve Bank in 1998. Under the system, a Central Complaints Committee (CCC) headed by a lady officer in Grade ‘F’ is functional at the Central Office level. The CCC acts as focal point for the Regional Complaints Committees (RCCs) constituted at twenty centres of the Reserve Bank. The RCCs

are headed by senior lady officers. The CCC and RCCs, besides having a member from an NGO, have more than 50 per cent women members. During the period from April 2004 to March 2005 three complaints were received by these committees. While one complaint has been disposed off, the remaining two are at the final stage of disposal.

IX.31 In tune with the changing environment as well as policies and procedures in the Reserve Bank, the Premises Department focused on the twin goals of providing and maintaining modern infrastructural systems and enhancing customer ser vice. Accordingly, re-engineering of procedures and decentralisation of powers was taken forward. Upgradation/enhancement of amenities in the Bank’s residential quarters was assigned priority. The Department consolidated and relocated various offices. Three leased office premises in Mumbai were surrendered, thereby saving lease rent. The Department has offered the Reserve Bank’s surplus properties at New Delhi for outright sale to the Government of Karnataka. The work relating to the construction of Class IV colony at Bahadurpur, Patna, and Officers’ colony at Dadar-Parel, Mumbai was completed and the flats were allotted. The work relating to renovation and refurbishing of office/ residential buildings was taken up in a phased manner in Chennai, Ahmedabad, New Delhi and Mumbai. Rehabilitation of old buildings was also undertaken in various colonies at various centres. During the year, the installation of electrical distribution systems was completed in Chennai and Nagpur whereas it is under various stages of completion in other offices. The installation of fire/ smoke detection systems which was completed at Chandigarh, is in various stages of implementation at other offices. Upgradation of IT system/backbone system was completed at Kolkata. An expenditure of Rs.41 crore was incurred to complete these projects during the year.

IX.32 The Management Audit and Systems Inspection (MASI) of the Reserve Bank’s Offices/ Departments continues to focus on adherence to the prescribed systems and procedures and efficiency and economy in operations. The MASI of 12 Regional Offices (ROs), 10 Central Office Departments (CODs) and one Training Establishment of the Bank was

conducted during the period July 2004–June 2005. Consequent upon closure of Regional Audit/Central Audit Cells (RACs/CACs) with effect from July 1, 2004 and based on the acceptance of the recommendations of an internal Committee by the Bank’s Top Management, an Audit Monitoring Cell (AMC) has been set up. The system of Control Self Assessment Audit (CSAA), to be conducted by the ROs/CODs themselves, has been reinforced. The system of Concurrent Audit, with well-defined scope and responsibilities, has also been strengthened. Snap Audits of 7 CODs and 3 ROs were conducted during the year. The IS Audit continues to be an integral part of the MASI. The compliance with the major findings of MASI Reports is monitored by the Executive Directors’ Committee under the overall supervision and guidance of the Inspection and Audit Sub-Committee (IASC) of the Central Board. During the period July 2004–June, 2005, 4 meetings of the IASC and 6 meetings of the Executive Directors’ Committee were held.

IX.33 In keeping with the recommendations of the Committee on Procedures and Performance Audit on Public Services (CPPAPS), it was decided to take up the ISO 9001-2000 Certification Process in phases, beginning with the Regional Offices at Kolkata and Hyderabad. The Banking and Issue Departments at these offices will be taken up for Certification. The BS7799 Standard Cer tification for Information Security will be initially implemented in respect of two Departments viz., Department of External Investment and Operations (DEIO) and Internal Debt Management Department (IDMD) at the Central Office. Consultants have been appointed and it is expected that the respective ROs/CODs will be ready for Certification Audit within 16-18 weeks from the date the consultants commence their work.

IX.34 The Central Library of the Reserve Bank, attached to the Department of Economic Analysis and Policy (DEAP), plays an important role in the collection, storage, and dissemination of information. The Library has a comprehensive collection of books, journals, working papers, reports, CD-ROMs and other documents. The Library maintains electronic databases of all these documents (OPAC – Online Public Access Catalogue), which can be accessed through Intranet from the Central Office building and from all other offices of the Reserve Bank. Through its home page, the Library offers access to various online databases such as ECONLIT, Proquest Business Periodicals Database (covering 2,842 journals), India Business Insight Database, Prowess, Internet Securities, World Bank, and Elsevier Science Direct.

IX.35 The Library database has 100,423 records which cover books and other documents. The Library receives 534 technical journals. The Library provides Current Awareness Services for all new documents added in the Library as well as select articles from professional journals through Intranet on a regular basis. The Library also provides information services and support to training colleges and libraries in other offices of the Reserve Bank.

IX.36 The Reserve Bank continued to disseminate information through media, press releases, publications, notifications, frequently asked questions and adver tisements. It organised meetings, workshops and seminars for interacting with special audiences. Sales counters were opened at the entrances of the Banking Halls of most of the Regional Offices to disseminate the Reserve Bank’s publications to the public in general and universities, researchers and media, in particular. The Reserve Bank’s website continued to remain a major source of information. Over 6,500 users registered themselves for receiving information through e-mail. As many as 29,588 visitors used the personalised service to access information available on the Reserve Bank’s website. During the year, the Reserve Bank issued 1,392 press releases and added 1.92 giga-bytes (GBs) of material to its website, taking the volume of information available on the website to 13 GBs. The e-mail helpdesks continued to furnish replies to the queries raised by the general public. Members of the public send their queries relating to foreign exchange, banking and economy through e-mail/telephone/fax to the helpdesks set up in various operational departments/ Regional Offices.

IX.37 Efforts were made to introduce innovative measures for better customer service in the fields of currency management, foreign exchange, banking matters, clearing mechanism and in evaluation of customer satisfaction. To assess the quality of currency in circulation, officials of some regional offices paid incognito visits to major market localities and interacted with shopkeepers, vegetable vendors, cashiers in departmental stores/restaurants, post offices and a few non-currency chest branches of banks. Meetings were also held with senior officials of banks maintaining currency chests. Problems of forged notes, reverse flow of coins and exchange facility to the public were some of the other issues discussed during such meetings. Commercial banks were advised to open special counters for exchange of soiled and mutilated notes on Sundays and holidays and accept coins of all denominations tendered through their counters either for exchange or for deposit in accounts.

IX.38 Training programmes/workshops were conducted to educate the officials of various banking and non-banking organisations such as anti-economic offences cells of state Crime Investigation Departments (CIDs), urban co-operative banks’ federations, frontline staff of various Government departments such as electricity boards, police, regional transport, central railway and post offices regarding the features of genuine notes and difference between forged notes and genuine notes. Some Regional Offices launched education campaigns on currency management related issues, such as security features of genuine notes and availability of exchange facility for currency notes and coins, through issue of press releases, advertisements, display of banners, distribution of handouts and interviews in the local electronic media for awareness of the general public. Jammu Regional Office imparted training to the officials of Shri Mata Vaishno Devi regarding detection of forged notes, which was appreciated by the Shrine’s Board authorities. As a measure to eliminate middlemen and also to obviate the need for carrying back large amounts of cash, Kanpur regional office commenced, effective July 2004, crediting the exchange value of coins exchanged by bulk quantity users through ECS.

IX.39 Several Regional Offices organised seminars/workshops to familiarise and sensitise authorised dealers (ADs) with the extant regulations/ directions relating to expor t, impor t and miscellaneous remittances. ADs were also briefed about the rationale behind the recent liberalisation measures on current account based on the recommendations of the Committee on Procedures and Perfor mance Audit on Public Ser vices (CPPAPS) and their role as facilitators to ensure that the fruits of liberalisation reach the resident individuals. In order to inform the general public of the availability of hassle free drawal facility for foreign exchange for private/business visits, study abroad, overseas medical treatment and remittance for miscellaneous purposes on the basis of self-declaration without reference to the Reserve Bank, a few Regional Offices issued press releases indicating the names of ADs in their respective States and the procedure for release of foreign exchange. Thiruvananthapuram Regional Office also conducted workshops for ADs at major cities with concentration of foreign exchange users. Through workshops and interactive sessions, some Regional Offices attempted to educate bank officials dealing directly with individual customers as also the faculty of banks’ training centres about the various liberalised remittance facilities available to individuals under the Foreign Exchange Management Act.

IX.40 Regional offices of the Reserve Bank also remained sensitive to the needs of bankers and took measures to enhance services to banks. The Bhubaneswar Bankers’ Clearing House, for instance, commenced return clearing on Saturdays from December, 2004 and Kanpur office incorporated a link to its intranet website to facilitate download of day-end settlement statements including high value, high value return and MICR return by clearing house/INFINET member banks. The Kolkata office installed a user-friendly browser based software called Knowledge Management Tools which provides a complete database of instructions/circulars issued by the Reserve Bank and other regulators of the financial sector. The package also contains various committee reports, action taken reports on the committees’ recommendations and banking related statutes.

IX.41 With a view to reviewing the implementation of the recommendations of the CPPAPS, several Regional Offices held meetings with the zonal-in-charge of banks to discuss the findings of the customer satisfaction surveys conducted through interactions with customers, general public and shopkeepers and the incognito visits to bank branches to get direct feedback on the quality of service provided by banks to customers in the areas of note/ coin/defective notes exchange facility, foreign exchange facility and other banking services.

IX.42 Other customer friendly measures included revised time norms in Public Debt Offices to deposit bonds for redemption, even after banking hours and creating additional operating sessions in the real time gross settlement (RTGS) system with a view to encouraging primary dealers to join the RTGS live environment.

IX.43 The Department of Economic Analysis and Policy (DEAP) continued to provide analytical research on various facets of the Indian economy in the Reserve Bank’s headline publications for the purpose of enhancing the public’s appreciation of the dynamics of policy formulation. Some of the important publications prepared in the Department and released during the year included the Reserve Bank’s Annual Report, 2003-04, the Report on Trend and Progress of Banking in India, 2003-04 and the Study on Finances of State Governments. The Report on Currency and Finance, 2003-04 with the theme as ';Monetary Policy';, Handbook of Statistics of Indian Economy, 2003-04 and a new publication Handbook of Statistics on State Government Finances were also released during the year. Documents entitled Macroeconomic and Monetar y Developments in 2004-05 and Macroeconomic and Monetary Developments: First Quarter Review 2005-06 were released along with the Annual Policy Statement for 2005-06 and the First Quarter Review of the Annual Statement on Monetary Policy for 2005-06, respectively. The Department also disseminated information on key parameters of the Indian economy in the Reserve Bank’s Monthly Bulletin and its Weekly Statistical Supplement.

IX.44 The Reserve Bank of India Occasional Papers continued to publish analytical studies in the areas concerning the Indian economy.

IX.45 The Department also provided technical inputs to other Departments and participated in several InterDepartmental Groups. The Department coordinated the work relating to Article IV consultations with the staff of the IMF. The Department conducted the 1^st Brahmananda Memorial Lecture, which was delivered by Professor Lord Meghnad Desai on September 20, 2004. The Department organised a series of seminars/lectures by foreign dignitaries and experts from India.

IX.46 The Development Research Group (DRG), constituted in the Reserve Bank in November 1991, continued to serve as a forum for collaborative research efforts between professional economists and officers of the Bank. The DRG has published 24 studies since its inception on a wide range of subjects relating to monetary, fiscal, banking and external areas besides real and social sectors. One more study on ‘Transmission of Monetary Policy and the Bank Lending Channel: Analysis and Evidence for India’ is being published shortly. During 2004-05, eight studies were initiated under the DRG: 1) Multilateral Trade Disciplines and Foreign Banks in India: Theoretical Issues and Empirical Analysis; 2) Inequalities in Cooperative Agricultural Credit: A Case Study of Maharashtra; 3) Credit Risk of Banks in India: Modelling and Measurement; 4) Role of Divisia Monetary Indices in Monetary Policy Making;

5) Municipal Finances; 6) Comparative Study of Dutch Disease Infliction in Eight Countries; 7) Relation Between the Initiation of Vigilance Case against a Bank and the Change in its Lending Activity; and

8) Competitiveness, Efficiency and Productivity in the Indian Manufacturing Sector. Since March 2001, the DRG has been entrusted with the work relating to the Bank’s Endowment Scheme under which the financial support is provided to various institutions for the purpose of research and training in areas of interest to the Reserve Bank.

IX.47 The Reserve Bank had established an Enterprise-wide Data Warehouse - christened the Central Database Management System (CDBMS) -

for its internal use in December 2002. As announced by the Governor in the Mid-term Review of Monetary and Credit Policy for the year 2003-04, the Reserve Bank appointed, in January 2004, an Expert Group chaired by Prof. A. Vaidyanathan to guide the process of placing relevant data in CDBMS in the public domain and to dovetail it to the data requirements of the user community outside the Reserve Bank within the overall framework of data dissemination. The Group submitted its report to the Reserve Bank in September 2004 and the recommendations were put on the Reserve Bank’s website. Accordingly, the ‘Database on Indian Economy’ (DBIE) was launched in November 2004. It has been created to provide public with access to published data series with additional details on some series as available in the CDBMS. This is an advanced mode of information dissemination through which long term time series data can be downloaded in a user-friendly manner. Users can also view the related data definitions and concepts. The time series data placed in the DBIE relate to the financial sector, the real sector, financial markets and the external sector. The data in DBIE can be accessed through two modes viz., Reports and Data Query. Data Query allows creation of user-defined reports as per the user’s selection of variables and time period. Both Reports and Data Query templates are classified as per the subject areas as well as frequency of data. The list of the data series will be progressively enlarged on the basis of feedback received and availability of relevant data series in the Reserve Bank’s data warehouse. The site receives, on an average, over 6000 visitors every month.

IX.48 Fifteen offices of the Banking Ombudsmen administer the Banking Ombudsman Scheme, 2002. 10,560 complaints were received during the year 2004-05. These complaints related, inter alia, to deficiency in services relating to loans and advances, deposit accounts and collection of cheques/bills. During the period 2000-01 to 2004-05, 98 per cent of the complaints disposed off were by mutual settlements, and awards were passed in respect of the remaining two per cent. The scope of the scheme is proposed to be enlarged to cover additional banking services.

IX.49 Eight meetings of the Central Board were held during the year ended June 30, 2005 of which five meetings were held at traditional centres, viz., New Delhi (two), Kolkata, Chennai and Mumbai and three were held at non-traditional centres, viz., Jaipur, Bhubaneswar and Srinagar. Forty-five weekly meetings of the Committee of the Central Board were held during the year at Mumbai. The Committee of the Central Board attends to the current business of the Bank, including approval of the Reserve Bank’s weekly accounts pertaining to the Issue and the Banking Departments. The discussions at the meetings of the Central Board broadly covered matters pertaining to general superintendence and direction of the Reserve Bank’s affairs. Directors, with their vast experience in diverse fields, actively contributed to important decisions pertaining to currency management, information technology, human resource development, banking supervision, monetary and credit policy, the Reserve Bank’s accounting policy and Internal Debt Management policy. The deliberations of the Board were focused on a critical assessment of the percolation of benefits of growth to the poor sections of society and on agriculture and rural areas, in general. The Central Board and its Committees continued to review the functioning of Local Boards with a view to facilitating their advisory role.

IX.50 In addition, one meeting of the Staff SubCommittee, four meetings of the IASC and five meetings of the Building Sub-Committee were held during the year. These Sub-Committees of the Central Board have been constituted to assist the Central Board in direction of the affairs of the Reserve Bank. The IASC oversees and reviews the various mechanisms put in place in respect of inspections and internal audits and house-keeping in the Reserve Bank with a view to giving a sharper focus and maximising the efficacy of the internal control systems in the Bank. It also deliberates and advises on the appropriate accounting policies/ standards to be adopted by the Reserve Bank. The Building Sub-Committee advised on var ious matters including construction of staff quarters, renovation of office and residential buildings. The Committee also reviewed the utilisation of the capital budget for the year 2004-05. The Staff SubCommittee reviewed manpower planning in the Reserve Bank.

IX.51 Shri V. Leeladhar and Smt. Shyamala Gopinath joined the Central Board after taking over as Deputy Governors with effect from September 21, 2004. IX.52 Dr. Rakesh Mohan was reappointed as Deputy Governor of the Bank with effect from July 2, 2005. Earlier he had demitted the office on October 31, 2004 consequent upon his appointment as Secretary (Economic Affairs), Government of India, Ministry of Finance. During the interregnum he was on the Central Board as Government Official Director under Section 8(1) (d) of the Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934.

IX.53 Shri Ashok K. Jha, Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance, Government of India was nominated as Director on the Central Board under Section 8(1)(d) of the Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934, with effect from July 14, 2005 vice Dr. Rakesh Mohan.

IX.54 Shri D.C. Gupta, Finance Secretary, Government of India ceased to be Director of the Central Board on his retirement from Government on October 30, 2004.

IX.55 Prof. C.N.R. Rao, an eminent scientist and Honorary President of Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research resigned from the Central Board with effect from May 25, 2005 due to his commitments in frontline areas of research.

IX.56 Shri R.K. Kaul, former Deputy Governor of the Bank (October 1, 1983 to September 30, 1986), passed away on April 22, 2005.

IX.57 Shri P.D.Chitlangia, member of the Local Board (Eastern Area) since May 24, 2001 passed away on June 10, 2005.

IX.58 On the 70th anniversary of the Reserve Bank, the Central Board at its meeting held on March 5, 2005 at New Delhi, honoured the presence of its oldest living former Director Shri Satya Pal Virmani aged 93 who was invited to meet the Board members after the meeting.

IX.59 Shri V.K. Sharma, who was earlier Regional Director, was appointed as Executive Director with effect from September 22, 2004.

IX.60 The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Finance, headed by Maj. Gen. (Retd.) B. C. Khanduri, M.P and consisting of 25 members and 5 officials visited Mumbai from October 25, 2004 to October 30, 2004 in connection with their study tour for examination of subjects dealt with by the Ministry of Finance.

IX.61 Mr.Joschka Fischer, German Foreign Minister accompanied by 4 top officials of his administration had a meeting with the Governor, Deputy Governors and Executive Directors on July 21, 2004.

IX.62 Mr. Alan Larson, Under Secretary of State for Economic and Business Affairs and Mr David Mulford, Ambassador of the United States had a meeting with the Governor, Executive Directors, and other senior officials of the Bank on September 16, 2004.

IX.63 The first Dr. Brahmananda memorial lecture in honour of the late economist instituted by the Bank was delivered by Lord Meghnad Desai, Director, Centre for the Study of Global Governance, London School of Economics & Political Science, London on September 20, 2004. Lord Desai also visited the central office of the Bank and held a press conference.

IX.64 Mr. John Palmer, Deputy Managing Director of the Monetary Authority of Singapore had a meeting with Dr. Rakesh Mohan, Deputy Governor on September 13, 2004 and met the Governor on September 16, 2004.

IX.65 Mr. David Burton, Director, Asia & Pacific Department, International Monetary Fund had a meeting with Dr. Rakesh Mohan, Deputy Governor on October 21, 2004.

IX.66 Sir Andrew Large, Deputy Governor, Bank of England had discussions with Governor, Deputy Governors, Executive Directors and senior officials of the Bank on December 1, 2004.

IX.67 A delegation led by Mr. John B. Taylor, US Under Secretary for International Economic Affairs had an interactive meeting with Governor, Deputy Governors, Executive Directors and senior officials of the Bank on December 8, 2004.

IX.68 A delegation led by Mr. Francois Loos, French Minister for Trade and Commerce had an interactive meeting with Governor, Deputy Governors, Executive Directors and senior officials of the Bank on December 8, 2004.

IX.69 Smt. K.J. Udeshi, Deputy Governor, hosted a luncheon for Dr. Richard C. Levin, President, Yale University and distinguished guests from the industry on January 7, 2005.

IX.70 A delegation led by H.E. Mr. Tharman Shanmugaratnam, Minister for Education and Chairman of the Monetary Authority of Singapore had a meeting with Governor, Deputy Governors, Executive Directors and senior officials of the Bank on January 8, 2005.

IX.71 Governor hosted a luncheon meeting with Mr. Malcolm Knight, General Manager, Bank for International Settlements on January 31, 2005. Deputy Governors and select list of invitees participated. Mr Knight also had a post-lunch meeting with Deputy Governors and Executive Directors followed by a one to one meeting with Governor.

IX.72 Dr. Ronald Koch, Minister President of Hessen, Germany along with a delegation had a meeting with Deputy Governors, Executive Directors and senior officials on February 7, 2005.

IX.73 Smt. K. J. Udeshi, Deputy Governor, chaired a meeting with a delegation from the Deposit Insurance Corporation of Japan, led by Mr. Hajime Shinohara, Deputy Governor, on February 17, 2005.

IX.74 A delegation from Bank Austria Creditanstalt, Austria led by Dr. Angelo Rizzuti, Executive Director and Mr. Aung, Divisional Adviser had a meeting with Shri V. K. Sharma, Executive Director and senior officials on February 21, 2005.

IX.75 A delegation from Bank of Japan led by Mr. Shin Nakahara, Member of the Policy Board, had a meeting with Smt. Shyamala Gopinath, Deputy Governor, Executive Directors and senior officials on February 25, 2005.

IX.76 Mr. Rodrigo de Rato, Managing Director, IMF along with a delegation of officials had a meeting with Governor and Deputy Governors followed by luncheon attended by prominent industrialists and bankers on March 17, 2005. He also addressed a select audience in the Bank.

IX.77 Mr. Noorulah Delawari, Governor, Da Afghanistan Bank had a luncheon meeting with the Governor, Deputy Governors and senior officials on March 21, 2005.

IX.78 The 8^th Bank for International Settlements Working Party on Monetary Policy in Asia was hosted by the Reserve Bank on June 6-7, 2005 at the Central Office, Mumbai. The meeting was attended by 23 senior executives from different central banks and top executives of the Bank.

IX.79 The accounts of the Reserve Bank were audited by M/s. J. L. Sengupta & Co., Kolkata; M/s. S. N. Nanda & Co., New Delhi; M/s. Khimji Kunverji & Co., Mumbai; M/s. Ford Rhodes Parks & Co, Mumbai; M/s. Rajendra K. Goel & Co., New Delhi; M/s. M.K. Dandekar & Co., Chennai. While the first five audit firms were re-appointed the last one has been appointed for the first time by the Central Government.