The United Forum of Bank Unions has declared a two-day strike for March 24 and 25, 2025. The union has made proposals for public sector banks to implement five-day banking and hire enough employees. The union's demands and the strike timeline are listed below.
To improve its competitiveness and strengthen its leadership pipeline, the bank is also starting a leadership development program that will train some 400 staff. The strategy for branch expansion Indian Bank's Managing Director and CEO, Binod Kumar, stated that the bank's top goal is branch expansion.
We have opened 70 to 80 branches during the past two to three years. With the goal of opening 300 new branches during the next three years, we now intend to greatly grow our network," Kumar stated.
The bank intends to apply a cluster-based model, increase its presence in current sites, and concentrate on developing towns. The plan calls for opening branches in agribusiness clusters, MSME (Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises), and expanding urban regions. The bank's long-term goal is to open a branch in each of the major district headquarters.
Pay Attention to Employee Satisfaction The bank's growth plan heavily relies on employee satisfaction. Kumar underlined the significance of enhancing productivity through employee-centric initiatives and keeping top personnel.
To better identify and reward strong performers, Indian Bank has implemented a more objective performance appraisal system. Kumar clarified, "This will help us distinguish between high performers and non-performers, thus motivating top talent."
Indian Bank has selected 400 staff members to participate in a year-long training program as part of its endeavors to develop a strong leadership team. Through project-based learning, classroom instruction, on-site training, and private coaching, the curriculum will concentrate on fostering managerial and strategic skills.
In addition to bolstering efforts in compliance, IT, HR, and cybersecurity, the objective is to develop a strong pool of leaders capable of propelling corporate expansion.
"Our leadership development programs will guarantee qualitative improvements in a number of operational areas in addition to boosting business growth," Kumar stated.
Enhancing Resource Acquisition and CASA Indian Bank is concentrating on improving its Current Account Savings Account (CASA) percentage in addition to growing its branch network and leadership team.
The bank aims to increase its CASA ratio from 40% to 42%, despite the challenges in deposit mobilisation. To achieve this, the bank has expanded its Resource Acquisition Centers (RACs), opening 100 last year, with plans to open 25 more.
The bank has also set up Resource and Government Relationship (R&G) Centers to improve relationships with government departments and offer banking solutions beyond account openings.
“CASA growth depends on customer satisfaction, convenience, and efficiency,” Kumar concluded, highlighting the importance of meeting customer expectations to drive deposit growth.
The public sector lender's profit decreased 7.86 percent sequentially from Rs 18,331 crore in the September quarter (Q2FY25).
The Net Interest Income (NII) of the Mumbai-based bank increased 4.09 percent year over year (Y-o-Y) to Rs 41,446 crore in Q3FY25 from Rs 39,816 crore in the same quarter the previous year.
In Q2FY25, NII was flat at Rs 41,620 crore. The domestic business's net interest margin (NIM) decreased from 3.34 percent in Q3FY24 to 3.15 percent in Q3FY25. NIM decreased sequentially from 3.27 percent in Q2 of FY25.
In Q3FY25, its loan loss provisions increased from Rs 1,756 crore in Q3FY24 to Rs 2,305 crore. They fell from Rs 3,631 crore in Q2FY25, though.
In Q3FY25, SBI's advances increased 13.49% year over year to Rs 40.67 trillion. The retail advances reached Rs 14.47 trillion, an increase of 11.65%. The total amount of deposits rose 9.81% year over year to Rs 52.29 trillion.
The share of low-cost deposits -- current account and saving account (Casa) -- in domestic books declined to 39.2 per cent at the end of December 2024 from 41.18 per cent a year ago. Sequentially, they fell to 40.03 per cent in September 2024.
The bank’s gross non-performing asset (NPA) ratio was 2.07 per cent at the end of December 2024 improved by 35 basis points Y-o-Y. The net NPA ratio was at 0.53 per cent, improved by 11 basis points Y-o-Y. The provision coverage ratio, including technical write-offs, stood at 91.74 per cent in December as against 91.49 per cent a year ago.
This verdict followed the Bank of India's (BOI) appeal of a single-judge decision that mandated the bank reimburse an employee for the time he was unemployed owing to mandatory retirement.
Narmada Prasad Chaudhary, who began working for the Bank of India in July 1974, is at issue in this case. He was prematurely retired from his job by the bank in January 2002. In the High Court, Chaudhary contested the ruling and prevailed.
The Supreme Court upheld the High Court's verdict after the bank appealed the decision there. Chaudhary was consequently given his position back in September 2009.
However, the bank failed to factor in the more than seven years he was unemployed as a result of the mandatory retirement when determining his post-retirement compensation.
The computation of his pay and retirement benefits was impacted by this omission.
Chaudhary then filed an appeal with the High Court once more. A one-judge panel decided in his favor in this matter, directing the bank to reimburse him for his lost income, perks from his promotion, and other obligations during his leave of absence.
This verdict was contested by the bank management, and a division bench heard the case. Chief Justice SK Kait and Justice Vivek Jain led the division bench, which affirmed the ruling of the lower court.
During Chaudhary's forced retirement, they mandated that the Bank of India give him his full salary, benefits from his promotion, and other entitlements. Additionally, the bank was ordered by the court to pay him 8% interest on the amount owing.
Why Government has Discontinued?
Ajay Seth, the secretary of economic affairs, clarified that the SGB program was first intended to decrease gold imports and raise money from the market. However, SGBs have evolved into a costly borrowing instrument for the government. No fresh tranches have been released this fiscal year, even though the FY25 Budget allocated ₹18,500 crore to SGBs, which is less than the ₹26,852 crore in the interim Budget
The SGB plan, which was introduced in November 2015, gave investors an interest-bearing investment option as an alternative to holding actual gold. The bonds have an 8-year maturity duration, and after 5 years, they can be partially redeemed. The interest rate was first set at 2.75% annually and then changed to a fixed rate of 2.5% throughout the duration of the bond.
Impact on Existing Investor
Current SGB holders will continue to receive their rewards even though the plan will no longer accept new investments. The government has affirmed that redemptions will take place in accordance with the original plan and that existing bonds will continue to pay the guaranteed 2.5% yearly interest until maturity. SGBs are still marketable on the secondary market through stock exchanges for investors who wish to sell before they mature.
Since its inception, total issuances under the SGB scheme have reached ₹45,243 crore as of FY23, with an outstanding value of approximately ₹4.5 lakh crore recorded by March 2023. The discontinuation primarily affects prospective new investors.
According to government indications, the 8th Pay Commission may come into effect from 1 January 2026. The previous 7th Pay Commission (7th CPC) was implemented from 1 January 2016, and usually every 10 years a new pay commission is implemented. Accordingly, the 8th CPC is expected to come into effect from January 2026.
Fitment Factor plays the most important role in determining the basic salary of government employees. In the 7th Pay Commission, it was 2.57, due to which the minimum salary increased from ₹ 7,000 to ₹ 18,000. Now in the 8th Pay Commission, there are three different estimates regarding fitment factor - 1.90 or (1.92), 2.08 and 2.86.
This will decide what the new salary of government employees will be. If the fitment factor is 2.86, then the minimum wage can increase from ₹ 18,000 to ₹ 51,480.
How is basic salary decided?
Formula of Fitment Factor:
New Basic Salary = Existing Basic Pay × Fitment Factor
Below table gives a comparison of salary increase as per 7th and 8th Pay Commission-
Salary increase expected in 8th Pay Commission
Pay Level 7वें वेतन आयोग (Basic Pay) 1.92 फिटमेंट फैक्टर 2.08 फिटमेंट फैक्टर 2.86 फिटमेंट फैक्टर
Level 1 ₹18,000 ₹34,560 ₹37,440 ₹51,480
Level 2 ₹19,900 ₹38,208 ₹41,392 ₹56,914
Level 3 ₹21,700 ₹41,664 ₹45,136 ₹62,062
Level 4 ₹25,500 ₹48,960 ₹53,040 ₹72,930
Level 5 ₹29,200 ₹56,064 ₹60,736 ₹83,512
Level 6 ₹35,400 ₹67,968 ₹73,632 ₹1,01,244
Level 7 ₹44,900 ₹86,208 ₹93,392 ₹1,28,414
Level 8 ₹47,600 ₹91,392 ₹99,008 ₹1,36,136
Level 9 ₹53,100 ₹1,01,952 ₹1,10,448 ₹1,51,866
Level 10 ₹56,100 ₹1,07,712 ₹1,16,688 ₹1,60,446
Will DA (Dearness Allowance) be zero in the 8th Pay Commission?
In every new pay commission, Dearness Allowance (DA) is reset initially.
Currently, DA is running at 53% in the 7th Pay Commission, but in the 8th Pay Commission it will be reset to zero and then gradually increased.
How much will pensioners benefit?
At present the minimum pension is ₹9,000 per month.
The maximum pension of government employees is fixed at 50% of the basic salary.
Currently the maximum pension is ₹ 1,25,000 per month. In the 8th Pay Commission it can be up to ₹ 3 lakh.
| Overview | |
|---|---|
| Recruitment Organization | State Bank of India |
| Post Name | Manager, Dy. Manager |
| Total Vacancies | 42 |
| Notification Date | 1 February 2025 |
| Post Category | Specialist Officer |
| Important Dates | |
|---|---|
| Apply Start Date | 01 February 2025 |
| Apply Last Date | 24 February 2025 |
| Interview Date | Notify Later |
| Application Fee | |
|---|---|
| General/ OBC/ EWS | Rs. 750/- |
| SC/ ST/ PWD | Rs. 0/- |
| Mode of Payment | Online |
| Vacancy, Qualification | ||
|---|---|---|
| Age Limit (Manager): 26-36 Years. (As on 31.07.2024) Age Limit (Dy. Manager): 24-32 Years. (As on 31.07.2024) | ||
| Post Name | Vacancy | Qualification |
| Manager (Data Scientist) | 13 | B.E/ B.Tech in Related Field |
| Dy. Manager (Data Scientist) | 29 | B.E/ B.Tech in Related Field |
| Selection Process | ||
|---|---|---|
| 1. Shortlisting 2. Interview Test 3. Document Verification 4. Medical Examination |
