Post bank of India: an idea whose time has come

Abstract

A task force headed by T.S.R. Subramanian has submitted its report to the department of posts (India Post) and one of the strong recommendations that the task force makes is the setting up of a Post Bank of India (PBI) as a universal bank. This is against the suggestion that India Post be licensed to run a payments bank.

The last institution set up by the government in the banking sector was Bharatiya Mahila Bank Ltd. It was set up without any elaborate exercise, by a mere announcement made by the finance minister in the budget. It was granted a banking licence by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and its contours were drawn by a committee headed by former Canara Bank chairman M.B.N. Rao. In contrast, the route taken by India Post is different. It was one of the applicants for a bank licence when the guidelines were issued in February 2013. Surprisingly, it was not granted a licence then. The press release issued by RBI on 2 April 2014 said the high-level advisory committee that examined the applications had recommended that it was desirable for the central bank to consider the case of department of posts separately, in consultation with the Indian government. From the tone of the task force report, it appears that India Post has not found favour with either the ministry of finance or RBI. Read more at: https://www.livemint.com/Opinion/pXUl53mCDXmGrMTFhbJMOJ/Post-Bank-of-India-an-idea-whose-time-has-come.html