This refers to Janmejaya Sinha's article "The importance of being independent" (May 26). Despite having all the ingredients available to their peer private banks, the performance of public sector banks (PSBs) is dismal, especially in terms of non-performing assets. Recently, PSBs were stuck in infrastructure finances, whereas private banks exited such projects well in time. In the current situation, where most of the old employees carrying the legacies of the pre-1991 era are retiring and being replaced by young tech-savvy executives, it is the right time for the government to take a call on reducing its stake in PSBs below 51 per cent since resistance from employee unions is bound to be lower. These newly-recruited PSB employees, who are all under the new pension scheme, are more interested in higher salaries and perks rather than secure jobs. The government also needs to find ways to pass on subsidies (agricultural loan waiver) to the farm and other sectors, because ever since the nationalisation of banks, PSBs have been the tools through which the government injects subsidies into priority sectors.
Ravi Kant, Mumbai
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