The All-India Nationalised Banks Officers’ Federation (AINBOF) has urged the Finance Minister to roll back the proposal to privatise two public sector banks (PSBs) in the country.

In a letter to Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, the General Secretary of AINBOF, GV Manimaran, said that PSBs are the only agencies that implement government-sponsored schemes in all seriousness with the only objective of serving the underprivileged sector across the country. All programmes and schemes of the government over the recent years could be implemented successfully and the contribution of PSBs was immense in this.

While private sector banks are more oriented towards improving their bottom line, it was only the PSBs that stood against all odds and were instrumental for smooth implementation of opening of PMJDY (Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojna) accounts and the process of demonetisation, to name a few, he said.

He said Budget announcements pertaining to the financial sector, more particularly those of privatising two PSBs and one general insurance company and increasing the holding of FDI from 49 per cent to 74 per cent in insurance sector, came as a rude shock.

“You are aware that our country could withstand the financial tremors which shook the world a decade back only because the banks here were owned by the government. You may also agree that the main motive behind formation of a public sector enterprise is not to earn profit, but to serve the people by providing the necessities,” he said, urging the Finance Minister to roll back these proposals.

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