RBI's powers over PSBs: What's the truth? - I

Section 51 of the amended BR Act explicitly states which portions of the BR Act apply to the PSBs

About a month ago, reacting to the strident criticism of failing to prevent rampant corrupt practices in public sector banks (PSB), Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Urjit Patel argued, perhaps for the first time, that the RBI had very little powers over PSBs. Last fortnight I wrote that bank chairmen narrated plenty of anecdotes about the RBI’s powers if it chose to use them. A week ago I re-read Mr Patel’s speech, including all the sections under which, he said, the RBI is prevented from acting against PSBs and spoke to a few senior people. In this article, I