VisVoice

   SBT SMRITHI SAMGAMAM I was fortunate to attend the SBT Smrithi Samgamam at Thiruvananthapuram today. I was indeed blessed to exchange pleasantries with so many 'SBTMAR' , including veteran SBTians, who defined and were instrumental in the way the bank carried its golden journey for nearly 72 years since its foundation day. The function was well conducted in a professional way, maintaining the hallmark 'SBT personal touch' . Hats off to Sivan, Devi Prasad, Harishankar, Sasidaran Nair (Sasi), Smt. Saliamma and a score of others in that wonderful team, which delivered on all fronts - cultural, food, accommodation, recognizing the literate elite (with citations and awards)  and in bringing out the nostalgic moments of SBT in a brilliant manner. I just present for your perusal some highlights of SBT, that I shared with our colleagues on its Foundation Day in September 2021. I. Defining moments and mile stones in the journey of SBT ü    12.09.1945 - Travancore Ban...

  My voting experience and confidence in EVM I successfully cast my vote to my preferred candidate today. After retirement in 2017, since I stay at the same place, I did my democratic duty for the third time in succession (first two being the parliament elections in 2019 and assembly elections in 2021). I share my experience at corporation middle school, Chinnavedampatti, Coimbatore, where I cast my vote. Around the polling station, there were representatives (from the parties or working for a common cause) sitting in a chair and a small table placed before them. They have the copies of the books, having the voters’ list. Persons, who carry the the voter information slip or who get their names checked with one of the above representatives, go and stand in the queue before the booth number allotted to them. Police personnel deployed were of great help. Separate queues were arranged for men and women and they voted alternately, when their turn came. Those who are aged and or are diff...

 

  Have we ever encouraged pent-up individuals? Incident 1: 10th March 1999. I was assigned the task of preparing the 'exit' interview sheet, after interacting with Mr. Sharma (full name not disclosed), who was retiring from the services of the bank at the end of the month. Mr. Sharma was my branch manager in 1987, when I went through my fourth branch training as a probationary officer in one of the largest NRI branches. The branch is quite often engrossed in operational issues relating to pension, gold loans, treasury bills and remittances connected with currency chest management. The branch was also known for core trade union activities. Balancing of books (manual in those days) was always behind the schedule, at least by two months. Despite all the issues described above, Mr. Sharma was quite positive, known for his wits to cool down the hot  tempers across the corridors. I always visualized his face, with a smile stamped on it. His 'exit' profile indicated that he re...

  My lighter Moments in SBH Today SBHians are celebrating SBH day. My last term in the State Bank Group was with SBH from August 2014 to till the last date of my retirement, (31st March 2017), incidentally the last day of existence of Associate Banks, prior to their merger with the parent SBI. While I am proud to have been associated with the bank on some of its greater moments, I thought of sharing some of my lighter moments in the bank. 1. Knowing the person before hand: a. Day one of joining the bank : I took the flight from Bengaluru on 1st August 2014 morning and reached Hyderabad Airport. The liaison officers Shri G.P. Mishra, Shri Patwari and Shri Pavan Kumar received me at the airport. On the way to head office, the car stopped before Shirdi Sai temple. I was pleasantly surprised, as I am a staunch Sai devotee. Later on, I learnt from my personal secretary (PS) Shri P.S. Sravankumar that the liaison at SBH had a chat with SBM, where I worked from 2011-14, to know my beliefs...

It will be prudent to keep the policy rate and stance unchanged The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of Reserve Bank of India (RBI) meets in Mumbai from 3rd April to 5th April 2024, to review the policy (repo) rate and the monetary policy stance. There is positivity all around, as revealed by the following key factors, that are usually reviewed in the meetings of MPC: External : 1. Forex Reserves increased by USD 64 billion since Mar 23 and the total reserves at USD 642 billion, incidentally, is the highest recorded so far. 2. FPIs injected net inflows of USD 25 billion in 2023-24. 3. Till Jan 24, the NRI inward remittances crossed USD 10.2 billion in FY 2023-24, nearly double the inflows, received in the corresponding period last year. 4. Current Account Deficit (CAD) narrowed down both in terms of percentage (1.2% of GDP) and amount (USD 10.2 billion ) in Q3 FY 24 as compared to Q2 FY 24 and Q3 FY 23. 5. Rupee continues in the range bound of Rs.82-Rs.83 per dollar and the average Bren...