Mangalore: Extralegal systems gaining stronghold - Justice Venkatachaliah
Pics: Brijesh Garodi
Daijiworld Media Network - Mangalore
Mangalore, Feb 19: The ‘Founder’s Day’ of Karnataka Bank Ltd was celebrated in the auditorium of the bank’s head office at Pumpwell on Monday February 18.
The Founder’s Day lecture was delivered by M N Venkatachaliah, former chief justice of India. Ananthakrishna, non-executive chairman of the bank, presided over the function. P Jayaram Bhat, MD and CEO, Karnataka Bank, was also present on the dais.
In his lecture, Justice Venkatachaliah said that Karnataka Bank has a proud record of 90 years of dedicated service since its inception in 1924. “The present management comprising of dedicated professional bankers deserves our gratitude for setting high standards of efficiency and ethics through its 518 branches throughout the country. Today, Karnataka Bank has 11,606 shareholders, 68 lac constituent clients, 6,241 officers and employees serving the bank. The deposits have reached Rs 34,620 crore,” he added.
He further said, “Today, there is increasing disenchantment with the quality of governance by the governments. There is pervasive corruption in public life. There is bureaucratic indifference to the day-to-day needs and problems of the citizens. Extralegal systems and parallel governments are acquiring a stronghold: the emergence of extralegal systems is itself a symptom of the rebellion against status quo in the developing countries,” he said.
“In the financial year 2010-11 banks in Mumbai reported 787 frauds involving Rs 1049 crore, followed by Delhi with Rs 355 crore. It was also reported that the rate of recovery of lost money is dismal. The report said that in the last five years, out of a total Rs 182 crore lost in Mumbai, only Rs 63 crore was recovered. There is also a serious threat of cyber-crimes. “Go Mobile or Die” is the new opportunity and challenge before the banking Industry,” said Justice Venkatachaliah.
Elaborating on the history of banking in India, he said, “Two decades after Indian Independence, a solid foundation was laid for the banking Industry. The Banking Regulation Act of 1949 was ushered in to regulate commercial banking. In December 1951, there were 566 banks. By the end of 1968, the number declined to 281. Non-scheduled banks had collapsed in large numbers,” he added.
“In 1969, 14 banks and in 1980 six more were nationalized. Between 1969 and 2012 the number of branches increased from 8,262 and 97,111. Of the 97,111 branches 61,289 were rural and semi-urban indicating a marked shift towards rural and semi-urban priority. The impact of this was that as against one branch for 60,000 people in 1969, the ratio came down to one branch for 13,000 people. The year 1985 saw some radical policy changes in customer service, credit management, staff productivity, and profitability etc,” he said.
“In India, it is said that there are 310 million savings bank accounts. But with regard to the possibility of multiple accounts their number is estimated at 200 million- implying that 83 percent of the population has no access to banks. There are an estimated 675 million active mobile connections. By 2020 mortgages are estimated to cross Rs 40,000 billion. In short, there will be great changes in the banking institutions, practices, ethics, and economies,” he added.
In his presidential address, Ananthakrishna said that growth is fast and there should be someone to lead innovation. “The greatest challenge faced by the financial sector is to regulate fast growth and innovate. Introduction and implementation of modern gadgets is another important aspect in the field.”
He concluded by explaining the path through which Karnataka Bank came into existence and as to why it was named so.
As a part of the cultural event, violin recital by Vidhwans Ganesh and Kumaresh and team was held which mesmerized the gathering in the beautiful language of music.