New Delhi: Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said on Friday that the interest of the employees of five associate banks will be protected following their merger with the parent entity State Bank of India.
He said that the Central government has sanctioned the proposal of SBI to enter into negotiations with its subsidiary banks as well as Bhartiya Mahila Bank for acquiring them including their liabilities.
Mr Jaitley said that the proposal for acquisition has been originated by respective boards. “SBI has informed that the interest of the employees of the subsidiary banks will not be affected. The pay and allowances offered to employees or officers of the merging banks will not be less than the overall pay and allowances as they would have drawn in the merging banks,” he said in a written reply to the Lok Sabha.
SBI has five associate banks — State Bank of Bikaner and Jaipur, State Bank of Travancore, State Bank of Patiala, State Bank of Mysore and State Bank of Hyderabad.
On Brexit, Mr Jaitley said that India has not only avoided adverse impacts, it has in fact emerged as a safe haven for investors around the world. “For example, the Rupee depreciated against the US dollar by around 1 per cent for one day post-Brexit referendum, while currencies of other emerging markets depreciated for many days.
“But on a cumulative basis, the rupee has actually appreciated by 0.3 per cent on 19th July 2016 over 23rd June 2016,” said Mr Jaitley. Similarly, the Sensex fell only on one day by around 2 per cent while the equity index of many other developed and developing countries fell by a higher percentage for many days after Brexit referendum, he said. “On cumulative basis, the Sensex has risen by 2.9 per cent on 19th July 2016 over 23rd June 2016. The G-sec rate has also declined from 7.48 per cent to 7.28 per cent over this period,” added finance minister.
Meanwhile, the Income Tax Department has detected undisclosed income worth Rs 22,475 crore in over 9,500 surveys conducted over the past two years, Finance minister Arun Jaitley said on Friday. As part of enforcement measures the department has conducted searches in 990 groups of assessees during the last two years.
