PSU Bank's Heart-Melting Initiative, After maternity leave, female employees will receive a special welcome

A new program named PNB Udbhav has been introduced by Punjab National Bank (PNB) to assist and extend a warm welcome to female workers who are returning to work following maternity leave. According to PNB, women frequently find it difficult to return to work after giving birth because of emotional strain, childcare obligations, financial strain, and the need to advance in their careers. 

 The bank launched this employee-friendly initiative as part of its Gender Diversity at Workplace Policy to assist female employees in returning with confidence.

Any woman finds it difficult to return to work after giving baby. After giving birth, a mother experiences profound emotional transformations in addition to physical healing. She experiences weakness, discomfort, anxiety, and occasionally melancholy. She must simultaneously return to her job and leave her newborn at home. Emotional stress, anxiety, and guilt are brought on by this separation. 

 A lot of women struggle to balance parenthood and their careers. Their hearts frequently remain with their child while they are at work. This stage is mentally taxing because to sleep deprivation, ongoing concern for the child, and pressure to do well at work. Some mothers believe they have changed. This is a genuine and widespread emotional issue.

A friendly greeting at work has a significant psychological impact. A woman feels safe, appreciated, and self-assured once more when she is treated with compassion, respect, and understanding. Fear can be lessened and emotional suffering can be healed with a modest gesture like a symbol of welcome or kind words. 

 The returning mother will be contacted by a Nodal Officer or ERG (Employee Resource Group) member one month prior to her joining duty under the PNB Udbhav plan. PNB SPARSH, the bank's teleconsulting service for female employees following maternity leave, would also be explained to her. This program aims to ease worry, tension, and dread while facilitating a seamless return to work.

On the day of rejoining, the employee will be warmly welcomed at the office, preferably with a planter and encouraging words. The ERG Head, ERG Member, or Nodal Officer will be present during this welcome. PNB said that this step is meant to make women employees feel valued and supported as they balance work and family life. All ERG heads, field offices, and head office divisions have been directed to implement this scheme in true spirit.

This initiative will not just help women return to work — it will help them return with dignity, confidence, and emotional strength.

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RBI Ombudsman received over 13 lac complaints in FY 2024-25, while complaints against private sector banks grew

 

The Reserve Bank's Integrated Ombudsman Scheme (RB-IOS) received 13,34,244 complaints in FY 2024-25, up 13.55% from 11,75,075 in FY 2023-24. These Complaints were submitted by email, letter at the CRPC, or through the CMS portal. 

9,11,384 complaints were sent to the CRPC. Of these, 1,08,331 complaints were sent to the ORBIOs and 10,589 to CEPCs for processing. The remaining 7,76,336 were deemed non-maintainable or non-complaints. As of the end of FY 2024-25, 16,128 complaints were pending before the CRPC.

The ORBIOs received a total of 2,96,321 complaints in FY 2024-25, including 1,87,990 through the CMS portal and 1,08,331 recommended by the CRPC. This was a 0.82% rise from 2,93,924 complaints in FY 2023-24. Complaints received per lakh accounts at ORBIOs declined from 8.9 in FY 2023-24 to 7.7 in FY 2024-25 at the national level. 

Of the total complaints at ORBIOs, 91.22% were reported digitally through the CMS site or email. Individuals accounted for the highest share with 2,58,365 complaints (87.19%). Among categories, complaints relating to loans and advances were the greatest in FY 2024-25, followed by credit card complaints. Complaints involving mobile or electronic banking fell by 12.74% year-on-year.

With 2,41,601 cases, or 81.53% of all complaints received by the ORBIOs in FY 2024–2025, complaints against banks constituted the greatest share. NBFCs accounted for 43,864 complaints or 14.80%. 

Among banks, private sector banks received the most complaints, going from 34.39% in FY 2023-24 to 37.53% in FY 2024-25. The percentage of complaints against public sector banks decreased from 38.32% in FY 2023–2024 to 34.80% in FY 2024–2025.

In FY 2024–2025, the ORBIOs resolved 2,90,567 complaints, including ongoing cases, for a disposal rate of 93.07%. Of them, 1,80,621 complaints (62.16%) were manageable, while the rest were categorized as non-maintainable. Of the maintainable complaints, 43.36% were rejected and 51.91% were settled through conciliation, mediation, or mutual settlement. 

The Appellate Authority received 104 challenges against Ombudsman rulings during the year. Of these, 98 were submitted by complainants and 6 by regulated entities.

The Contact Centre (toll free: 14448) operating from Chandigarh, Kochi, and Bhubaneswar, it handled 9,27,598 calls in FY 2024-25, a rise of 28.89% from the previous year. Of these calls, 60.64% were handled through the IVRS system and 38.59% by staff. Abandoned calls dropped sharply to 0.78%. Hindi accounted for 70.43% of calls, English 6.73%, and 22.84% were in regional languages including Assamese, Bengali, Gujarati, Kannada, Odia, Punjabi, Malayalam, Marathi, Tamil, and Telugu.

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Latest Updates on Bank Merger

The Government of India is preparing a big plan to reorganise public-sector banks. If this plan is adopted, the number of government-owned banks will come down from 12 to only four by the financial year 2027. These four banks will be State Bank of India (SBI), Punjab National Bank (PNB), Bank of Baroda (BoB), and a new, sizable bank created by combining Canara Bank and Union Bank of India, according to sources in a report released by Money Control. The Finance Ministry is working on the idea with the main purpose of strengthening the banks, boosting their financial health and making them strong enough to compete with global lenders.

Canara Bank and Union Bank are scheduled to be combined first. The government is also exploring if Indian Bank and UCO Bank can be incorporated into this same structure. These banks will serve as the primary pillars of the public-sector banking system once they are finished, along with SBI, PNB, and BoB. Other mid-sized banks such as Indian Overseas Bank, Central Bank of India, Bank of India and Bank of Maharashtra may be merged into SBI, PNB or BoB. Punjab & Sind Bank has not yet received a final verdict. Before the plan is implemented, it has to pass through numerous approval phases. It will first be presented to the Minister of Finance.

After that, it will be reviewed by senior officials, examined by the Prime Minister’s Office and checked by SEBI because the decision could affect the stock market. Only after all clearances will the mergers move forward.

The government believes that creating larger and stronger banks will help meet the country’s growing need for credit. Bigger banks can handle large loans, support infrastructure projects and match the growth of private sector banks. Officials also feel that mergers will help cut costs, remove duplicate branches and make better use of capital. They say that this round of consolidation may be smoother than the earlier one because banks today have stronger balance sheets, better systems and more experience in handling mergers.

If this plan becomes a reality, it will be the second major phase of bank consolidation after the 2017–2020 reforms, which reduced the number of state-owned banks from 27 to 12. The new proposal aims to take this change further and build a smaller number of much stronger public-sector banks that can support India’s future growth.

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ED has arrested a Bank of India(BoI) officer in a fraud case for Rs 16.10 crore

In accordance with the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 (PMLA), Hitesh Kumar Singla, an officer of Bank of India, was taken into custody by the Directorate of Enforcement (ED), Mumbai, from Ahmedabad Junction Railway Station. Bank of India had previously suspended the officer. 

 After his appearance before the Greater Bombay Special PMLA Court, he was given seven days of ED detention. Under Sections 13(1)(a) and 13(2) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, Section 409 of the Indian Penal Code, and Section 316(5) of the BNS, the CBI had brought a case against Singla and Others.

As the case involved money laundering, it was transferred to ED and ED started its investigation.

Investigations revealed that between May 2023 and July 2025, Singla fraudulently closed multiple accounts—including Term Deposits (TDs), Public Provident Fund (PPF), Senior Citizen Savings Scheme (SCSS), Savings Bank (SB), and Current Accounts (CA)—without authorization. The funds were then diverted to his personal SBI savings accounts.

According to the ED, Singla deliberately targeted 127 account holders, mostly vulnerable customers such as senior citizens, minors, deceased persons, and dormant account holders, to avoid detection.

The diverted funds were layered and transferred in small, concealed transactions, causing a total loss of ₹16.10 crore to Bank of India and its customers, while severely damaging the bank’s reputation and public trust.

Singla had been evading the bank and not reporting since the crime was discovered. At Ahmedabad Junction, ED apprehended him based on technical surveillance and intelligence inputs. He was detained despite his repeated attempts to avoid detection by switching carriages and seats on Train No. 19320 Mahamana Express (Ujjain–Veraval).

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Does State bank of India treat officers of merged associate banks differently? The Telangana High Court received the case

The merger of five affiliate banks with the State Bank of India (SBI) is a significant matter that the Telangana High Court has chosen to consider. A division bench led by Justice G.M. Moinuddin and Chief Justice Aparesh Kumar Singh accepted an appeal submitted by P.T.M. Gopala Krishna and others.

The government orders that were issued during the merger of State Banks of Bikaner and Jaipur, Hyderabad, Mysore, Patiala, and Travancore with SBI have been contested by the petitioners. They maintained that the revised terms of service that were implemented following the merger were arbitrary and unlawful.

They claim that the March 2017 option letters compelled workers to resign or accept the revised terms of employment. They also argued that the top general manager, who lacked the legal authority to establish service conditions, was the one who issued these letters. Only the SBI Central Board was authorized to make such judgments under the State Bank of India Act, 1955. Workers at merging associate banks have complained that they do not receive the same benefits and perks as regular SBI workers.

According to the statement, service jurisprudence is unaware of this so-called choice letter.If a permanent employee or officer disagrees with the new terms and conditions that management has imposed, they cannot be forced to leave. Furthermore, no terms and conditions of service authorized by the Central Board of the Transferee Bank, State Bank of India, are mentioned in the so-called offer of employment letter dated March 29, 2017. Thus, it is evident that CGM lacks the power to unilaterally issue employment offer letters that have not been authorized or approved by the Transferee Bank's Central Board.

It goes on to say that a review of the choices made under Clause No. 3 reveals that Associate Bank employees have experienced hostile discrimination. Probationary officers and trainee officers at SBI will receive four more increments, while those at Associate Banks will not receive those same increments, as stated explicitly in Clause 3(b) of the Annexure to the offer letter. Put another way, there is flagrant and obvious prejudice against probationary officers and trainee officers of associate banks when it comes to raises.

SBI previously purchased State Bank of Indore on August 28, 2010, and State Bank of Saurashtra on August 23, 2008.While acquiring State Bank of Saurashtra, the terminal benefits, pension, gratuity, and Bank’s Contribution to Provident Fund (with interest), were given to them.

As stated in Section 2(a) of the Terms & Conditions of Service Applicable to Officer Employees of State Bank of Indore (SBIN), SBI provided the same terminal benefits, pension, gratuity, and Bank's Contribution to Provident Fund (with interest) to its officers during the acquisition of SB Indore.

As a result, based on previous experience, the officers of the Associate Banks had a right to expect that SBI would provide them with comparable advantages. Their petition had previously been denied by a one-judge panel. The petitioners lacked the legal standing to contest the government's orders, the court had decided. Additionally, it noted that the majority of associate bank executives had willingly switched from the contributory provident fund system to the pension plan.

However, the appellants have now argued that the earlier judgment ignored crucial legal issues and wrongly relied on developments that happened after their case was filed.Taking note of these submissions, the High Court bench has issued notice to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and has posted the case for further hearing.

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Mumbai based businessman is jailed for mistreating a female bank employee

 

A 54-year-old businessman was sentenced to a year of hard labor in a Mumbai magistrate's court for insulting the dignity of a female bank employee who had come to his home on business. The businessman was not only given a jail sentence, but the court also fined him Rs. 1000. When the female bank employee came to his house to verify, the businessman mistreated her. 

 Narendra Sagvekar, the defendant, is 54 years old. On November 27, 2020, the victim, a 27-year-old deputy manager at a bank, visited Sagvekar's home to confirm his address in connection with his application for a bank account.

A day prior, Sagvekar had gone to the bank to open a savings account, but he neglected to bring a photo. An employee was tasked with going to his home to confirm his address in accordance with bank policies. 

 Around 12:30 p.m., the woman arrived at the house and discovered Sagvekar by himself. She was going to depart after doing the necessary paperwork when Sagvekar allegedly used unlawful force, kissed her on the cheek and neck, held her hard, and made illegal physical contact. She was able to shove him away and left the scene right away.

Following her escape, the victim went back to her bank branch and told the operations head, branch manager, and a coworker about what had happened. She later complained to the Malad Police Station. Two days after being taken into custody on December 17, the accused was freed on bond. 

 The accused claimed that no witnesses were present at the scene of the crime and that the accusations were unfounded. However, even under cross-examination, Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate B.N. Chikne deemed the woman's statement to be reliable and consistent throughout the trial. Despite the lack of eyewitnesses, the court found that the victim's testimony was sufficient to convict the accused.

Next, a point was raised – Why the female employee took time to file FIR? Why was there delay in reaching to the police?

The magistrate said that panic and fear in such situations are natural, and it is common for Indian women to hesitate before taking such cases to the public eye. “The delay has been properly explained,” the judge said.

In an attempt to justify himself, Sagvekar said that the woman had made a fake complaint against him because he disagreed with a savings plan she recommended and failed to reply to her "Hello" WhatsApp message. 

 The court dismissed this argument, ruling that the claim lacked credibility and that the woman had no reason to falsely accuse him. In addition to refusing to release Sagvekar on probation or a bond of good behavior, the accused asked the court to release him on a bond of good behavior. The magistrate declared, "The accused does not deserve leniency because this is an offense of moral turpitude."

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Complaint Against DGM for Misconduct and Abusive Language in PSU Bank

The State Bank of India, Panchkula administrative office employees have officially filed a complaint, pointing out the Deputy General Manager's alleged misbehavior, hostile conduct, and use of derogatory language, which has resulted in a hazardous work environment and poisonous workplace culture. 

Staff and officers from State Bank of India's Administrative Office (AO) and Regional Business Office (RBO) in Panchkula filed a formal complaint with the State Bank of India Officers' Association at the Local Head Office in Chandigarh on June 24, 2025. In the complaint, the Deputy General Manager (DGM) (Business and Operations) is accused of misconduct, using abusive language, and engaging in behavior that has created a toxic and unhealthy work environment.

Allegations of Misconduct and Abusive Language

According to the complaint letter, the DGM has been accused of using abusive and insulting language towards employees. The staff allege that this behavior extends to senior officers, including Assistant General Managers and Chief Managers (CM). 

The letter mentions that the officer has frequently shouted at and threatened staff during office hours. Specific remarks highlighted in the complaint include phrases like "I will slam you to the ground," "All of you are idiots," "The entire AO staff is mad," "Bring him by the neck," "You all are garbage," and “Get out of my cabin.”

Concerns Over Mental Distress and Workplace Safety

The complaint emphasizes how the officer's actions have led to a poisonous workplace culture and a hazardous working environment. Deep emotional suffering, including anxiety, depression, and in certain cases, suicide thoughts, has been reported by staff personnel. Additionally, the petition notes that staff members are afraid to work under the DGM and are afraid to visit the the office due to the hostile atmosphere.

Request for Action

In the letter, the staff members have requested the Officers' Association to take up the matter with higher management. They seek necessary action to restore a safe and respectful work environment at the office.

Association Says Issue Taken Up Immediately with Circle Management

Speaking to Kanal, the association representative stated “Once we received the letter, we immediately took up the issue with the Circle Management. The Circle Management also took necessary action. A General Manager-level officer is heading the investigation.On June 26, an investigation was already conducted by him, and he was present at the office for the whole day. 

All the affected members have given their statements to him. The bank has taken necessary action, and we are closely following up the issue. We assure that whatever action is required will be taken because our Circle Management is very particular that such incidents should not happen in any office. The incident was reported just three days ago, and we are monitoring the situation closely. Let us wait and see how it unfolds over the next 2-3 days.”

The complaint by SBI AO/RBO Panchkula staff lists detailed incidents and includes staff signatures, reflecting their collective concerns about the work environment under the current leadership. The issue has been taken up by the association and is currently under internal investigation.

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Bank of Baroda Chief Manager Dies by Suicide Due to Work Pressure

 A horrible event occurred in Baramati, Pune, where 52-year-old Shivshankar Mitra, the branch manager of Bank of Baroda, committed suicide. At the Bank of Baroda branch on Bhigwan Road, he served as the Chief Manager. 

 Finally, the suicide note is delivered. To view the suicide note, please scroll down. The event took place on Thursday, July 17, late at night. Inside the bank's grounds, Shivshankar Mitra was discovered dead. He had gone so far as to hang himself from the limb itself. He was originally from Uttar Pradesh.

Shivshankar Mitra left behind a devastating letter outlining his reasoning for taking his own life. He wrote that the bank was putting a lot of pressure on him. 

 Five days prior, he had submitted a voluntary retirement request, citing his inability to cope with the mounting pressure and workload. However, it is thought that he felt helpless and took this extreme action because senior officials failed to respond. 

 He stated unequivocally in his letter:

“I, Shivshankar Mitra, Chief Manager, Bank of Baroda, Baramati, am committing suicide due to the additional pressure from the bank. Please do not put such pressure on other staff members. Everyone is doing their job with full dedication.”

He also expressed a noble wish — that his eyes be donated, if possible.

In his note, he also made it apparent that no one in his family was accountable and that he was acting alone and rationally. He requested that no one be held responsible for anything other than the stress he was experiencing at work. 

 He sent the following in a heartfelt letter to his family: 

“Priya, forgive me. Mahi, forgive me.”

(These are believed to be his wife and daughter.)

The cause of death has not yet been formally established by the authorities. Nonetheless, the circumstances and the note's contents suggest that work strain is the primary cause. This incident emphasizes how banking workers are experiencing increasing levels of mental stress and how their wellbeing needs to be given careful consideration.

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