Sharad Pawar’s decision to visit ED without being summoned, its refusal to meet him is a political charade. News of inquiry against Pawar before Maharashtra election raises suspicion that ED is doing bidding of its political masters. Modi government must ensure its corruption crackdown is seen to be above politics.
PMC bank crisis another example of lax regulation. RBI must ensure tight supervision
The Punjab and Maharashtra Cooperative Bank crisis is a fresh indictment of India’s lax regulatory oversight of smaller banks. Apart from tight supervision, the RBI must also ensure that the mostly poor customers of such banks, predominantly people without regular incomes, have easy and quick access to their hard-earned savings.
Poetic justice. The RBI Officers’ Credit Society has an FD of 105 crores with this bank. Its chief, Waryam Singh, was like the office furniture of the Wadhawan group, to which it had an exposure of 2,500 crores. A government that cares deeply about the safety of money place trustingly in banks, should slowly squeeze all these dodgy institutions out of the banking system. If money is not safe in a bank, households will go to Rose Valley and Saradha and Narada. Earlier, Madhavpura. Till that happens, the RBI should be more intrusive in its supervision and inspections.
… safety of money people place …
It was a gracious gesture to bestow the Padma Vibhushan on Shri Sharad Pawar. For half a century, he has been an important personage in the public life of Maharashtra and then the country. India needs more such tall personalities in its national democratic evolution. The quest for probity cannot be selective. Over time, greater transparency can be expected, including in the funding of elections. Till that happens, it must be widely perceived that uniform standards are being applied.