This refers to Debashis Basu's column "Regulators versus customers" (Irrational Choice, January 26). The provisions of the existing banking ombudsman scheme are adequate for cost-effective and timely redressal of most of the grievances of bank customers, including those arising out of the misselling of banking, investment and insurance products. Banking ombudsmen in India have addressed such grievances whenever they have been brought to their notice, in a hassle-free and time-bound manner. The grievances that do not come under the extant banking ombudsman scheme, which are only few in number, are dealt with by the redressal system in place in the Reserve Bank of India. The existing institutional arrangements functioning over the years have gathered wide experience, expertise and institutional memory in delivering redressal to the grievances of bank customers. But they perhaps could not fully meet the expectations of the new breed of customers in the evolving banking space, with the arrival of new products and services.
The responsiveness and effectiveness of the banking ombudsman offices operating all over India can be improved further through business process re-engineering, leveraging information and communications technology and strengthening their HR repertoire with the requisite knowledge and skill.
The success of customer protection largely depends on the level of customer education and awareness, and the existence of well-resourced institutions that are duly supported by effective law enforcement machinery. Therefore, merely creating a new institution may not serve the desired purpose.
Biplab Chakraborty, Kolkata
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