Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday emphasised that public sector banks would be run professionally without any interference, but accountability was an important factor in their functioning.
In a clear message to the banking community, he added that he is against political interference but in the interest of the people, supports political intervention as this will help the voice of the common man reach such institutions. Addressing chiefs of public sector banks on the last day of the two-day bankers' retreat 'Gyan Sangam' in Pune, Modi made it clear though that as the Government has no vested interest in State-owned banks, they can derive strength from this fact.
The Prime Minister said banks would be run professionally, and there would be no interference. But accountability was essential. The Prime Minister called for an end to lazy banking, and asked banks to take on a proactive role in helping the common man. He said banks should redefine parameters for success and to begin with, they should prioritise loans to enterprises which will generate more employment.
Modi also urged banks to develop dedicated teams to fight cyber crime. Highlighting the issue of poor financial literacy in the country, the Prime Minister said that even the common man needed financial literacy. He called upon banks to take the lead in encouraging competitions on financial literacy in schools, much like mock Parliament competitions.
With public sector banks having 81 per cent of branches and 77 per cent of deposits, their net profits should improve from the current levels of 45 per cent. Modi called for developing common strengths among the 27 public sector banks. He suggested that this could be done in areas such as software, and advertising.
He gave the example of number portability in the telecom sector in this regard. He said this would improve the customer-centric focus of banks. The Prime Minister said public sector banks, as a team, should also be conscious of the direction in which the country is moving, and work towards simplifying procedures to facilitate the common man.
The Prime Minister said that the banking sector of a country mirrors its economic rise. Japan and China had banks in the top 10 banks of the world during their economic rise, and called upon India's banking sector to establish banks which rank among the top banks of the world.