Bank of Baroda(BoB) Officer Dies by Suicide in Ranchi

The banking industry has been rocked by the death of a young Bank of Baroda staffer in Ranchi, which has also sparked new worries about occupational stress in the public sector. On September 20, Mr. Ishwar Chander Jha, a 37-year-old Senior Manager (Credit) assigned to the Ranchi Region under the Bhubaneswar Zone, is said to have committed himself.

According to the All India Bank of Baroda Officers' Association (AIBOBOA), the incident was directly caused by excessive work stress and a breach of internal policies. The association wrote a forceful letter to Shri Debadatta Chand, the bank's managing director and chief executive officer, expressing "deep regret and anguish" over the events that led to Mr. Jha's passing.

Late-Night Meeting Cited as Trigger

The union claims that on September 19, Mr. Jha and his Chief Manager were called to the Regional Office for a review meeting that lasted until ten o'clock at night.  According to the group, this was blatantly against Corporate Office directives, which explicitly prohibit such gatherings outside of the 4–6 p.m. time window.

 According to the union's letter, "these directives were issued specifically to prevent officers from being overburdened and to ensure a healthy work-life balance."  "Yet, without fear of accountability, some Regional Heads and DRMs continue to ignore the advisory and subject officers to lengthy late-evening meetings."

This is not the first such incident in the bank. The association reminded the management that a similar tragedy occurred in Pune zone in July 2025, prompting the Corporate Office to form a committee on officers’ work-life balance.

Following that incident, specific guidelines had been circulated across zones and regions. These included:

• Meetings with branches must be confined to 4 p.m.–6 p.m.
• The number of official campaigns must be restricted to 3–4 at a time
• Misbehavior and harassment of staff were designated as “Zero Tolerance” issues

Despite these clear instructions, the union alleged, violations remain rampant, putting officers under unbearable stress.

Demand for Accountability

The AIBOBOA has demanded that responsibility be fixed in Mr. Jha’s case and that corrective steps be taken immediately.

“We earnestly request that accountability be fixed in this particular case for defiance of Corporate Office guidelines and that necessary steps be reinforced across the organization to ensure strict adherence,” wrote Prem Kumar Makker, General Secretary of the association.

As the news of Mr. Jha’s death spreads, employees across the bank are said to be under “tremendous psychological pressure,” with growing demands for reforms in workload distribution, meeting practices, and managerial accountability.

The ball is now in the bank management’s court to respond to the union’s concerns and reassure its staff.

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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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CBI Investigates ₹121 Crore Fraud in Gujarat, Complaint lodged by BOI

Three sites in Ahmedabad and Gandhinagar have been searched by the CBI in relation to a ₹121 crore bank scam involving the city-based company Anil Bioplus. Incriminating documents were seized as a result of the Wednesday raids. 

The CBI has charged the firm and its directors, Amol Shripal Sheth, Darshan Mehta, and Nalin Thakur, in response to a complaint filed by the Bank of India. 

 Based on a complaint received from Bank of India against M/s. Anil Bioplus Ltd., a private company based in Ahmedabad, its three directors—Amol Shripal Sheth, a full-time director; Darshan Mehta, a full-time director; and Nalin Thakur, a director—as well as unidentified public employees and other unidentified individuals, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) opened a case on September 8, 2025.

The lawsuit alleges that the directors of a private company situated in Ahmedabad conspired with unidentified Bank of India personnel with the malicious purpose to cause the bank to suffer an unjustified loss of Rs. 121.60 crores.

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PSU Banks Are Under Huge Pressure to Implement Social Security Plans

 

The Indian government has reportedly requested that Public Sector Banks increase the number of people enrolled in the PMJJBY and PMSBY social security schemes.  In order to accomplish this, banks are exerting tremendous pressure on branches to sign up as many clients as possible for this program.

 These letters and communications demonstrate the intense pressure banks are putting on branches to maximize social security enrollments.

PNB Orders Branches to achieve targets under PMJJBY, PMSBY

Bank branches are the most direct and reliable channels for raising awareness of government programs because they deal with clients on a daily basis.  Consumers frequently seek counsel and direction from banks in addition to financial services, which increases their openness to information provided by bank employees.

Banks now serve two purposes: they continue to offer financial services, but they also play a significant role in advancing the government's social welfare program. As a result, banks now serve as a conduit between the public and the government, guaranteeing that welfare programs reach the people where they are most needed.

Banks are involved in much more than just deposits, loans, and payments. They now play a crucial role in the development of the country by assisting in the expansion of financial inclusion and offering millions of people a safety net through government-sponsored programs.

The implementation of this pressure on bank branches will determine if it is appropriate or not.  On the one hand, the government's objective is admirable; programs like PMJJBY and PMSBY give crores of Indians who would not otherwise have access to insurance reasonably priced insurance.  Naturally, banks are the ideal way to raise awareness and increase enrollments because they are the most reputable financial institutions with direct access to customers.

 But when branch goals become unattainable and employees are compelled to vigorously promote enrollments, there is cause for concern.  In these situations, it may result in misselling, unhappy customers, and more stress for staff members due to workload.  The programs run the risk of being viewed as a burden by both employees and clients, rather than promoting voluntary awareness and informed decision-making.

The emphasis should ideally be on awareness and education rather than merely statistics.  Enrollment will rise steadily if banks provide comprehensive explanations of the advantages and promote sincere involvement.  However, too much pressure could lead to mistrust among customers and discontent among employees.

 What advantages do these systems provide?

 In India, the government supports the Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana, an accident insurance program.  For a yearly premium of Rs.20, individuals with bank accounts who are Indian residents or NRIs and between the ages of 18 and 70 can apply for the Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana.  The nominee will receive Rs.2 Lakh in the event of death or complete disability, and Rs.1 Lakh in the event of partial permanent disability.

Atal Pension Yojana is a government-backed pension scheme in India, primarily targeted at the unorganised sector. Any Indian citizen within the age group of 18 – 40 years, can join APY Scheme. Each subscriber under APY shall receive a guaranteed minimum pension of Rs. 1000/- per month or Rs. 2000/- per month or Rs. 3000/- per month or Rs. 4000/- per month or Rs. 5000/- per month, after the age of 60 years until death.

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Big Fraud of Rs.1,396 Crore Fraud in Bank of India(BOI) and Other Banks

On August 30, 2025, the Shimla-based Directorate of Enforcement (ED) conducted search operations in Bhubaneswar, Odisha, as part of a large-scale bank fraud and money laundering case involving M/s Indian Technomac Company Ltd (M/s ITCOL). In addition to the business establishments of M/s Anmol Mines Pvt. Ltd. (AMPL) and M/s Anmol Resources Pvt. Ltd. (ARPL), the searches were carried out at the residence of Shakti Ranjan Dash, Managing Director of these companies. The action was carried out in accordance with the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002.

The Himachal Pradesh Police CID filed a formal complaint (FIR) alleging that M/s ITCOL's directors conspired with corporate officials and chartered accountants to embezzle bank loans approved by a group of banks. According to ED findings, M/s ITCOL submitted fabricated project reports and displayed fictitious sales to dummy/shell firms in order to fraudulently obtain loans from a consortium managed by the Bank of India between 2009 and 2013. The loans were diverted elsewhere rather than being used for approved reasons. The estimated value of the suspected scam is ₹1,396 crore.

The ED had already seized assets totaling ₹310 crore in April 2025, of which ₹289 crore had been returned to the group of banks headed by Bank of India. According to the most recent inquiry, M/s ITCOL and its shell companies transferred ₹59.80 crore into M/s Anmol Mines Pvt. Ltd.'s (AMPL) bank accounts. The managing director of AMPL, Shakti Ranjan Dash, has been charged by the ED with willfully aiding Rakesh Kumar Sharma, the founder of M/s ITCOL, in money laundering by directing cash into mining operations in Odisha.

Investigators found that Shakti Ranjan Dash subsequently integrated the diverted money into AMPL’s accounts and recorded it as legitimate business income, thereby attempting to project “proceeds of crime” as clean money.

During the Bhubaneswar raids, the ED seized many luxury vehicles, cash,jewellery and property. Two lockers belonging to Dash were also frozen.

The ED confirmed that the seized assets belong to Shakti Ranjan Dash and his associated companies. Officials emphasized that the investigation is ongoing and further action will follow as evidence is scrutinized.

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Latest Update on 5 Days Banking

To find out how the 5-Day Banking implementation was going, an RTI was submitted. For a while now, the implementation has been delayed. While the DFS claims that the idea is being considered, the IBA claims that it is still pending. However, how much time will it take? An RTI was filed to obtain clarification on the issue, but the government declined to offer any updates. No information may be disclosed until the matter is resolved, according to the response.

In addition to refusing to provide any information, the Appellate Authority received an appeal against the RTI reply. The government has not made a firm decision about the introduction of 5-Day Banking, despite numerous debates. For years, workers and unions have been calling for this reform, but the Department of Financial Services (DFS) and the Indian Banks' Association (IBA) are unable to resolve the issue.

Instead of offering a precise date, the government opted to provide evasive and inconclusive responses when the matter was brought up in Parliament earlier. No progress has been made even after over a year. This delay demonstrates a lack of accountability and seriousness toward the banking staff. Such persistent delays beg the question: Why is the government unable to execute a long-overdue reform like 5-Day Banking if it genuinely cares about the well-being of bank workers and increasing industry efficiency?

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Big Relief for Job Aspirant! The 650 CIBIL score requirement for bank (IBPS) jobs has been removed by the government

For those looking for work in banking in India, there is excellent news. For bank positions, the Indian government no longer requires a minimum CIBIL score of 650. In the past, banks had made it mandatory for applicants to meet this CIBIL score requirement in their recruitment notifications.

This rule prevented many applicants from applying for jobs at banks. Some applicants even lost their job offers after passing exams and interviews because their CIBIL score was below the required level. A number of candidates also challenged this requirement in court.

Candidates argued that they wanted jobs because they were financially weak. Many had taken loans due to financial hardships, and because of repayment issues their credit score was low. Some also claimed that their CIBIL report contained errors due to mistakes made by the credit bureau.

The courts, however, observed that banks are financial institutions that deal with public money, and therefore employees must have good financial discipline. According to the court, if a candidate is a loan defaulter, he or she cannot be considered trustworthy to handle public funds. This led to further uproar, and the issue became even more prominent.

Finally, banks have decided to remove the mandatory CIBIL score requirement.

The matter soon gained traction on social media, where users strongly protested against this requirement. Aspirants highlighted that no other government job in the country required a CIBIL score—so why only banking jobs had such a condition.

In the Common Recruitment Process (CRP-XIII) for nationalised banks conducted by IBPS in FY 2023–24 for the recruitment of Probationary Officers/Management Trainees and Customer Service Associates, the condition of maintaining a healthy credit history and a minimum CIBIL score of 650 or above was clearly mentioned.

However, from the FY 2024–25 recruitment cycle (CRP-XIV) onwards, this condition has been removed. Now, candidates are only required to ensure that they maintain a healthy credit history at the time of joining the participating banks. The minimum credit score will be as per the policy of individual banks and may be amended from time to time.

This makes it clear that the earlier rule of maintaining a minimum CIBIL score of 650 has been scrapped. Candidates can now apply freely for IBPS PO Recruitment 2025. This is a major relief for aspirants and a positive step by the banks.

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BOI Classifies Loan Account of Reliance Communications as ‘Fraud’

 

Reliance Communications Limited, its promoter and former director, Shri Anil Dhirajlal Ambani, and its former director, Smt. Manjari Ashok Kacker, have had their loan accounts classified as "fraud" by Bank of India.

The Bank of India has also decided to label the loan accounts of RTL (the company's subsidiary), Smt. Grace Thomas (the former director of RTL and current director of the company), and a few other individuals (named in the RTL Letter) as "fraud." This decision was communicated in a letter to Reliance Telecom Limited (RTL), a subsidiary of the company.

Bank of India approved a 700 crore rupee term loan. As of 07/08/2025, there were 724.78 crores that were still owed. The loan was approved to cover a short-term discrepancy brought on by investments made in the purchase of 3G spectrum and associated capital expenditures. There was no guarantee when the loan was approved.

On June 30, 2017, the borrower's account became non-performing, with Rs 724.78 crores still owed. Although the Bank has been pursuing the borrowers and guarantors to collect the debt, they have not fulfilled their obligations.

Through M/s BDO India LLP, the bank carried out a forensic audit after the account became non-performing. The appropriate authority was presented with the results of the forensic audit. The following observations, findings, and conclusions of the forensic audit have led the competent authority to conclude that there are suspected fraudulent connotations after reviewing the audit:

In accordance with the review letter, Bank of India paid RCOM INR 350.00 Crores in a letter dated October 3, 2016, for "ongoing Capital exp, operational expenditure, repayment of existing liabilities other than related party / shareholder loans."

Loan Diversion: Fixed deposits totaled INR 350.00 crores.

A loan of Rs. 350 Cr was raised by the BOI on March 27, 2015, to cover spectrum fees. MF held the loan amount until April 7, 2015.A loan of Rs. 310.00 Cr was raised by SCB on March 30, 2015. FD was made on April 7, 2015, for a total of Rs. 632.50 Cr (BOI Rs. 350 Cr + SCB Rs. 310 Cr). RCOM obtained an equivalent loan of Rs. 632.50 Cr from BOI in order to pay the DOT Government of India for the Spectrum fees in relation to the aforementioned FD.

FD was liquidated on June 11, 2015, and the Rs. 632.50 Cr BOl loan was paid back. The payment of operational expenses was made with the full amount of the BOI loan.

The sanction letter stated that using the loan funds to invest in fixed deposits was prohibited; therefore, this is regarded as non-compliance with sanction terms of the loan.

Borrower requested that the company is undergoing Corporate Insolvency Resolution Process (CIRP) and thus the account should not be classified as Fraud.

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Bank of India(BOI) eyes listing of mutual fund, life insurance arms

Like other public sector banks like State Bank of India and Canara Bank, which have either investigated or started IPO plans for their subsidiaries, Bank of India (BOI) is thinking about offering its mutual fund and life insurance divisions as the initial candidates for possible market listing.

“We do see our mutual fund and insurance subsidiaries as the most likely to be off the block when the time is right,” said Rajneesh Karnatak, MD & CEO of Bank of India. “But not in this financial year. Our focus right now is on growing these platforms organically, expanding distribution, and ensuring they are strategically aligned with our core banking business.”

Public sector banks (PSBs) were asked by the finance ministry in June of this year to consider listing their subsidiaries on stock exchanges in order to generate revenue from their investment after further expanding their business activities. Before entering the capital markets, BOI is adopting a more methodical strategy, giving scale and value first priority. 

 As of July 2025, 7,62,969 investor folios across 20 equity, hybrid, and debt funds totaled Rs 13,183 crore under managed of BOI Mutual Fund, a wholly owned subsidiary of BOI. The life insurance division of BOI owns a 27.5% share in Star Union Daiichi. The life insurance generated Rs 8,033 crore in net premium income for FY25.

As of July 2025, the life insurance firm held a 3.25% market share among private insurers based on first premiums. Our subsidiaries are strategic levers that enhance our core banking operations and enable us to provide our clients with a full-spectrum financial ecosystem; they are not merely supplementary enterprises. 

 Life insurance and mutual funds are essential components of our client interaction approach and cross-selling strategy, Karnatak stated. In order to unlock short-term value, we are not in a haste to list these subsidiaries. Our priorities are increasing distribution, boosting operational metrics, increasing profitability, and foremost creating embedded value. We will think about listing the companies if we get to a point where they are established and scalable," he continues.

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Bank issues Explanation Call to Branch Manager Over Poor Mobile Banking Registrations

Indian Overseas Bank, a public sector bank, has once again released unexpected news. Due to a "inconsiderably low" number of registrations for its mobile banking application "IOB Connect," Indian Overseas Bank (IOB) has sent an explanation call to one of its branches.

According to the letter, the branch reportedly only registered a small percentage of its overall active customer base.

According to the letter, the bank was unable to comprehend why the numbers were so low, particularly considering that the mobile banking product was operational. The branch was criticized for its "casual approach" and disregard for company directives.

In order to prevent "intentional non-performance," which could result in disciplinary action under OSR norms, the bank has given the branch seven days to improve performance. The letter went on to say that the bank would issue a "charge sheet" against the branch manager if nothing changed.

An important topic has been brought up by this letter once more: Why are Public Sector Banks unable to promote their apps without putting pressure on their employees? Why do they put pressure on workers to meet every little goal?

Millions of people have downloaded fintech apps like Google Pay, PhonePe, and Paytm from the Google Play Store.Despite not having any physical locations, these businesses have amassed millions of users through digital means alone. 

 Why are public sector banks unable to follow suit? Why is it necessary to exert pressure on employees? It is not a good practice to place such strain on employees when branches are already experiencing a staffing shortfall. Banks should prioritize the well-being of their employees while promoting their apps and goods via digital platforms.

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