PSBs: First accurate data and transparency

The RBI had for years refused to share bank inspection reports on grounds that it held them in a fiduciary capacity, and activists fought all the way to the Supreme Court

Vivek Velankar, president of the Pune-based Sajag Nagrik Manch, wanted to know the amount that State Bank of India (SBI) had written off over the years as bad loans. He filed a query under the Right to Information Act. The bank refused to part with the information on laughably absurd grounds that collating the information would be a waste of resources. The write-offs, like advances and deposit figures, should be available at a click of the mouse. But SBI, a government-controlled entity, wants to keep even basic information well-hidden from the public.

Mr Velankar then tried another tack. As he told