14.2 In recent years, there has been a growing recognition that capital and technology are replicable, but not human capital which needs to be viewed as a valuable resource for the achievement of dynamic competitive advantage. In the context of the changing economic and business environment, there is a realisation that a rigid and hierarchical structure, which gives preference to seniority over performance is not the best environment for attracting and retaining the best talent or the best output from professionals. Accordingly, there is a critical need to review and improve strategies for recruitment, placement, career development and performance management. These efforts are likely to enable the fulfilment of the mission of the Reserve Bank to build and reinforce a corporate vision and culture that fosters learning, creativity and adaptability in the context of fundamental changes in technology and exacting requirements of business performance and customer service. Within the constraints of the existing framework, the Reserve Bank persevered towards the attainment of its goals during 2001-02 through training and skill enhancement, strategic changes in placement and recruitment policy, promotion of Hindi, improving customer services, and industrial relations. Efforts were intensified towards creating public awareness through a continuous process of dissemination and feedback within the framework of a consistent communications policy. Important legal reforms were initiated to improve the functioning of the Reserve Bank in the context of its environment and to strengthen the technological and institutional infrastructure for the financial system.

14.3 The three training colleges of the Reserve Bank, viz., Bankers Training College, Mumbai, Reserve Bank Staff College, Chennai, and College of Agricultural Banking, Pune cater to the training needs of officers of the Reserve Bank and the banking industry.

14.4 The Bankers Training College conducted 115 programmes in which 2,532 participants were trained during 2001-02 as compared with 113 programmes and 2,436 participants during 2000-01.

14.5 The Reserve Bank Staff College conducted 125 programmes during 2001-02 in which 2,795 officers were trained as compared with 140 programmes benefiting 2,949 officers during 2000-01. It also conducted off-site training programmes at Kanpur and Nagpur offices to meet the training needs of officers in pursuance of the observation made in the report of the Inspection and Audit Sub-Committee of the Central Board of Directors.

14.6 The College of Agricultural Banking conducted 179 programmes in which 3,777 officers were trained during 2001-02 as compared with 153 programmes and 3,179 officers during 2000-01.

14.7 The Zonal Training Centres (ZTCs) at the four metropolitan centres cater exclusively to the training needs of the Reserve Bank's employees in Class III and Class IV. During 2001-02, ZTCs conducted 131 programmes for Class III employees and 26 programmes for Class IV employees. The number of employees trained during the year was 2,576 in Class III and 470 in Class IV as compared with 2,013 employees in Class III and 313 in Class IV in 2000-01. ZTC, Chennai conducted three short duration programmes on "Bank Frauds in the Banking Sector" for police officers from Tamil Nadu and officials of the Central Bureau of Investigation. During the year, the ZTCs conducted off-site programmes at Kanpur, Nagpur, Hyderabad, Bangalore and Patna offices to enhance the reach of the programmes and address the specific training needs of the employees at these centres.

14.8 A four member in-house Working Group was constituted to review the training facilities for Class III and IV employees. Powers have been delegated to Regional Directors/Chief General Managers/General Managers-in-Charge to assess the training needs and organise need-based in-house/on-site training courses for their employees in Class III and Class IV.

14.9 A thrust was given to development of executive skills of senior officers of the Reserve Bank with a view to broadening their vision and enhancing deeper insight into organisational issues, effectiveness of leadership and related challenges. Accordingly, two programmes on Empowerment and Leadership for officers in grades 'E' and 'F' were arranged at the Indian Institute of Management (IIM), Ahmedabad and IIM, Lucknow. The programmes focussed on macroeconomics, management techniques, human resources management, leadership styles, motivation, stress management, time management and value based system in governance.

14.10 During the year 2001-02, 355 officers were deputed by the Reserve Bank to participate in training programmes, seminars and conferences organised by various external management/ banking institutes in India. Furthermore, the Reserve Bank deputed 39 officers for exposure in select commercial banks under the revised scheme of commercial bank training. A training programme on Attitudinal Development and Customer Service was conducted for the staff of Cash Departments in Kanpur and Lucknow offices with a view to enable them to understand better the need for customer care and services.

14.11 During 2001-02, 131 officers were deputed by the Reserve Bank to attend training courses, seminars, conferences, workshops etc. conducted by banking and financial institutions in 23 countries abroad. Under the Golden Jubilee Scholarship Scheme, four officers were selected in 2001-02 for pursuing higher studies abroad. The total number of officers deputed under the scheme till date stands at 63. The Reserve Bank also deputes officers of outstanding merit for pursuing short duration courses in the area of management development/executive development/ general management. Six officers were selected during 2001-02 for such studies. Under the scheme for grant of sabbatical to senior officers, three officers were granted sabbatical.

14.12 One officer was sponsored at the Indian Institute of Technology, while another officer was sponsored at the Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research (IGIDR) for Ph.D. studies. Furthermore, two officers were deputed abroad under the Harvard Asia Fellowship scheme. One officer was deputed to the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) under the Visiting Fellowship scheme offered by the BIS.

14.13 The Reserve Bank continued to provide incentives to staff members to acquire qualification in the field of computers. The scheme of base level computer training for officers and Class III employees introduced in November 1995 was liberalised. Regional Offices and Central Office departments were delegated powers to depute officers and Class III employees to reputed computer training institutions to gain working knowledge of computers. As at the end of June 2002, 2,970 Class III employees and 1,314 officers have been trained. Furthermore, with a view to enabling the officers to acquire more proficiency and skills in computer related areas directly linked to their job performance, 146 officers in various offices and Central Office departments were imparted training under the scheme for advanced computer training by the end of June 2002. During 2001-02, 109 officers were deputed for computer training to various external training institutions such as the IIM, the Administrative Staff College of India, the National Institute of Bank Management, the Management Development Institute, the Xaviers Labour Research Institute and the Institute for Development and Research in Banking Technology.

14.14 The recommendations made by the Working Group on "Training Needs/Plans in the Context of Technology" have been accepted by the Reserve Bank. An action plan has been drawn up to achieve 100 per cent computer literacy in the smaller offices by the end of 2002 and in bigger offices by the end of 2003. A Committee set up to examine the issues relating to the introduction of e-Learning in the Reserve Bank has submitted its report.

14.15 During 2001-02, 151 officials from 11 countries, viz., Bangladesh, Ghana, Iran, Kenya, Maldives, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, Thailand, Uganda and Zambia were trained/provided study attachment facilities at the Reserve Bank's training establishments/Central Office departments.

Interactive Groups

14.16 As a sequel to the Regional Directors' Conference 2000, the following interactive groups were set up to look into various dimensions of organisational development and to help formulate appropriate HR intervention strategies : (i) Interactive Group on Promotion Policy; (ii) Interactive Group on Motivation and Delegation; (iii) Interactive Group on Work Process Re-engineering; and (iv) Interactive Group on Career Planning. The Reports submitted by the Groups are under examination.

14.17 The Performance Appraisal System is under a comprehensive review with the help of a consultant. After discussions with a cross-section of officers from various offices, a report has been submitted which is under examination.

14.18 The Reserve Bank has started a counselling facility for its employees and their family members in Mumbai from September 2001 on an experimental basis. A part-time professional counsellor has been engaged for this purpose.

14.19 An Informal Focus Group of HRD chiefs has been formed with the Reserve Bank as a convenor in order to create a network of the leading Public Sector Banks (PSBs)/Financial Institutions (FIs) headquartered at Mumbai. The Indian Banks Association (IBA) is also included in the network. The Group, which commenced effective November 2001, meets at least once every quarter and discusses the HR practices in different banks/FIs and thereby provides advantage of experiences to members on mutual terms.

14.20 A Committee of Executive Directors has been set up to consider the feasibility of Re-grouping/Re-organisation of Regional Office and Central Office departments.

14.21 The Early Severance Scheme (ESS), introduced on February 13, 2001, was withdrawn on December 15, 2001.

14.22 The Reserve Bank offers a Summer Placement Scheme by inviting applications from reputed management institutes. For the year 2001-02, 26 students were selected in Maharashtra and Goa for preparing project reports in different areas of central banking. Under the decentralised arrangements, the Regional Offices at Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Chennai, Kolkata, New Delhi, Kanpur and Lucknow administer the scheme in their respective area of operations.

14.23 The Reserve Bank has been implementing the Official Language Policy as per the directives issued by the Government of India from time to time and also the provisions of statutes relating to the Official Language. Annual Programme 2001-02 was successfully implemented. Use of Hindi through computers was the main focus during the year. For various purposes of bilingual computerisation, a high-tech Computer Lab has been set up in the Reserve Bank, where staff as well as officers are imparted hands on training. Bilingual software applications have been developed for simple operations. Useful material was added to the Reserve Bank's Hindi website. Computer training programmes by the Reserve Bank's training colleges were conducted for the officers of the Reserve Bank, PSBs and co-operative banks.

14.24 The Reserve Bank Staff College, Chennai organised the first two-day seminar for the officers of the Reserve Bank on programming in Hindi and developing applications with the co-operation of experts from the Indian Institute of Technology, Chennai, C-DAC, Pune and its wing in Bangalore.

14.25 The Reserve Bank continued to implement several schemes of the Government of India, viz., the Hindi Teaching Scheme, shield schemes and various incentive schemes. Several periodicals, viz., Chintan Anuchintan, Without Reserve, the Reserve Bank Bulletin are published in Hindi/bilingual form. Hindi Day functions were also organised in order to create an atmosphere congenial to use of Hindi in day-today work. Use of Hindi increased at the senior management level in the discussions and deliberations at various meetings.

14.26 The third sub-committee of the Committee of Parliament on Official Language visited the Thiruvananthapuram office of the Reserve Bank and reviewed the progress made in the use of Hindi in that office. Besides, the Records and Evidence SubCommittee of the said Committee also visited the Reserve Bank's Lucknow and Panaji branches.

14.27 In the field of translation, besides the routine translation, viz., Hindi translation of the documents enumerated in the Official Languages Act, translation work emanating from various other sources, such as, Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC), master circulars was also completed.

14.28 Industrial relations in the Reserve Bank remained, by and large, peaceful during 2001-02 (July-June). The All India Reserve Bank Employees' Association (AIRBEA) (recognised) representing Class III employees and the All India Reserve Bank Workers' Federation (AIRBWF) (recognised) representing Class IV employees raised certain issues with regard to some demands and also about some changes in procedures/ systems in the matter of currency management. A series of meetings were held both with AIRBEA and AIRBWF and as an outcome, the unions extended full co-operation to the management in rendering better customer service and for improved productivity. Discussions were also held from time to time with the Officers' Associations about their service conditions.

14.29 During the year 2001, the Reserve Bank recruited 214 employees, of which 61 were from Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs) constituting 28.5 per cent of total recruitment (Table 14.1).

14.30 The declining trend in total staff strength continued during the year. It fell from 31,275 at end-December 2000 to 29,922 by end-December 2001 (Chart XIV.1). Of the total staff, 7,860 belong to SCs/STs (Tables 14.2-14.5).

14.31 During the calendar year 2001, the Bank's Liaison Officer for SC/ST employees conducted inspection of reservation rosters maintained at the Reserve Bank's Hyderabad, Mumbai and Bangalore offices. Meetings between the Management and the representatives of the All India Reserve Bank Scheduled Castes/Scheduled Tribes and Buddhist Employees' Federation were held on three occasions during the year to discuss issues relating to implementation of reservation policy in the Reserve Bank. In accordance with the policy of the Central Government, the Reserve Bank has provided reservation to Other Backward Classes (OBC). The representation of OBCs in the Reserve Bank (as on December 31, 2001) was 103 (1.4 per cent) in Class I, 109 (0.8 per cent) in Class III and 379 (4.1 per cent) in Class IV.

14.32 During the year, the National Commission for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes and the Parliamentary Committee on Welfare of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes visited the Reserve Bank Central Office to review the safeguards provided for SCs/STs.

14.33 The total strength of ex-servicemen in the Reserve Bank at end-December 2001 stood at 117 in Class I, 568 in Class III and 1,182 in Class IV. The total number of Physically Handicapped employees in Class I was 60 while those in Class III and IV cadres stood at 299 and 151, respectively, at end-December 2001.

14.34 The function of banker to Governments vested with the Reserve Bank has been evolving in the recent years reflecting the process of economic reform. The endeavour of the Reserve Bank has been to create conditions for the common person to pay Government dues at his/her bank branch of choice while ensuring instantaneous credit to the Government account with the Reserve Bank. In July 2001, a state-of-the-art technological architecture for management of Government Accounts at Central Accounts Section (CAS), Nagpur was set up. The system is designed to provide information on a real-time on-line basis to Central and State Governments in respect of their cash balance position and other transactions. As a further improvement, a Virtual Private Network (VPN) is being established to act as a hub for electronic interchange of information between CAS, Nagpur and various civil and non-civil ministries. The arrangements will enable various Principal Accounts Officers of Government to transmit Inter-Government transactions to CAS electronically and receive confirmation advices (clearance memos) instantly eliminating most of the reconciliation problems.

14.35 In response to suggestions received in the Conference of State Finance Secretaries held in Mumbai in May 2001, the Reserve Bank constituted a Working Group on Accounting and Reconciliation Procedure on State Government Transactions. The Group, which submitted its report in May 2002, recommended institutional arrangements for coordination, appropriate improvements in the existing system to ensure quick flow of transactions, information and accounts from point of origin to its final accounting, progressive switch over to Cheque Payment System replacing the current bills payment system, standardisation of format of challans suitable to computerised environment, wider use of information technology in maintenance of Government accounts and payment of the penal interest by the agency banks in respect of delayed credit into Government accounts. All the recommendations of the Group were accepted and with a view to ensuring time-bound implementation, an Advisory Committee drawing representatives from the Finance Departments of State Governments, the Accountants General and the Reserve Bank is being formed.

14.36 In order to assess the level of customer satisfaction and to suggest methods of improvement in the operations of the Government business, four Groups were set up by the Reserve Bank (one each at Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad and Nagpur Offices) during October 2001. The Groups, which submitted their reports in January 2002, made a number of useful recommendations including, inter alia, laying down a roadmap for enhancing the level of computerisation both at agency banks (capturing 80 per cent in the short run) and Government Departments; transmission of scrolls through electronic media; provision of tele-banking facility for the benefit of Government departments; review of challan formats; acceptance of only local cheques for Government payments; phasing out of non-MICR instruments; and, increasing use of electronic clearing service (ECS) for effecting Government payments. The Groups also recommended the setting up of a Standing Advisory Committee at all centres for review of problems on an ongoing basis for finding acceptable solutions. The recommendations are being implemented in consultation with the Governments/agency banks. This would facilitate the modernisation of the banker to government function of the Reserve Bank (Box XIV.1).

14.37 Continuing the process of improvement in the infrastructural facilities, the state-of-the-art backbone/ structured cabling network was extended to all the Reserve Bank's office premises. This network which is primarily used for data transfer as a part of the INFINET is being progressively used for voice applications. In order to improve the security environment, the closed circuit TV surveillance system was provided in four more offices and will be extended to remaining offices shortly. In addition, state-of-the-art access control systems incorporating bio-metrics and other security features as well as X-ray baggage checking systems are being provided in all offices of the Reserve Bank. The Reserve Bank is constructing its own office building at Lucknow which is expected to be completed by mid-2004.

14.38 In the context of the ongoing changes in the financial sector and the information technology sector, a number of steps have been initiated to amend the provisions of existing laws to make them compatible with the changed environment. The major legal reforms initiated in the banking sector in the recent months encompass areas such as security laws, Negotiable Instruments Act, fraud on banks and regulatory framework of banking (Box XIV.2).

14.39 The performance of the Inspection Department and compliance of observations made by the department in respect of Offices/Departments is monitored by an Executive Directors' Committee under the overall supervision of Inspection and Audit Sub-Committee (IASC) of the Central Board. During the period July 2001-June 2002, Management Audit and Systems Inspection of 20 Regional Offices/ Central Office Departments was conducted. Management Audit continues to focus on evaluating 3 "E"s, viz., Efficiency, Economy and Effectiveness of the organisation. The scope of Management Audit was enlarged to include aspects relating to (a) delegation, its effectiveness and control and (b) coordination, inter-departmental and intra-departmental. Inspection of Regional Audit Cells has commenced from this year. The Inspection Department is in the process of evolving risk based strategy for conducting inspections by identifying activities which are more risk prone so that audit resources are deployed intensively in these areas.

14.40 With the widening and deepening of interest in economic and financial markets with special reference to the role of the central bank, the Reserve Bank has been laying emphasis on an appropriate communications policy. The main objective of the dissemination policy of the Reserve Bank is to build and nurture a fruitful and beneficial partnership between the Reserve Bank and the public through a two-way process of creating public awareness about policy and obtaining continuous feedback on policy intentions. The main features of this process are, inter alia, transparency, timeliness and credibility. Furthermore, the communications policy is dynamic and enables the Reserve Bank to keep pace with technological developments in the domestic and international arena.

14.41 The Reserve Bank provides quality data to the public emanating from a robust statistical system established and strengthened over the years. During the last few years, an increasing use of internet has been made to improve the dissemination practices. The Reserve Bank website is also used for meeting the requirement of data dissemination under the Special Data Dissemination Standards of the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The communications from the Reserve Bank include, inter alia, daily press release on money market data at about 9.00 A.M., details of repos and reverse repos as part of Liquidity Adjustment Facility at about 1.00 P.M., the U.S. dollar-rupee and euro-rupee reference rates at about 2.00 P.M. and monetary, banking and financial data through the Weekly Statistical Supplement. Analyses of macro-economic developments are provided in the monthly Bulletin, the Annual Report, the Report on Trend and Progress of Banking in India and the Report on Currency and Finance. The Reserve Bank also brings out the Hindi editions of its various regular publications.

14.42 During the year under review, the Reserve Bank added two new features to its website to make it more user friendly. The visitors can register on the website for receiving the desired information through e-mail as soon as it is published on the website; 5,261 users had registered themselves by end-June 2002 for receiving information through e-mail. The visitors can also personalise the Reserve Bank site to directly access the sections that they want to view regularly. A total of 4,471 people have used this facility up to end-June 2002. The existing facility of e-mailing of monetary policy documents and announcements relating to auctions of government securities continued. A total of 711 and 2,690 e-mails were sent of the Monetary and Credit Policy Statements announced in October 2001 and April 2002, respectively.

14.43 A query facility was provided for exchange rates on the home page. The rates of four major currencies for previous seven days are displayed in the form of a chart on the site to provide the visitors an at-a-glance view of the movements in these currencies vis-a-vis the Indian rupee. The data tables in Weekly Statistical Supplement and Reserve Bank Bulletin were made available in an archived format. This facility enables the visitors to access the same data tables on a historical basis from the website. The balance sheets of major commercial banks for the year ended March 2001 were placed on the website. Access to these was provided through a special URL called www.bankresults.rbi.org.in.

14.44 During the year under review, the Reserve Bank issued 1,435 press releases and added 600 mega-bytes of material to its website taking the volume of information available on the website to over 45 giga-bytes (GBs). On an average, more than one GBs of data are accessed every day by users.

14.45 Among the other initiatives taken during 2001-02 in disseminating information was the live telecast of Governor's press conferences on the occasion of the Monetary and Credit Policy in October 2001 and April 2002 aimed at reaching the clarifications sought by newspersons on the monetary policy to the general public. The telecast was subsequently also placed on the Reserve Bank website. Similarly, the Deputy Governor's comments on the Union Budget for 2002-03 were also webcast.

14.46 In order to assess the scope for further improvement in the Reserve Bank's website, a comprehensive study was undertaken through a London-based firm. The study rated the Reserve Bank site vis-a-vis the sites of eight central banks and major international financial institutions on the basis of parameters, such as, overall effectiveness, design, navigation, content, use of technology, contact information and home page as gateway to information. The overall rating of the site was satisfactory. As against five stars for best practices, the Reserve Bank's site was rated four stars in three parameters, three stars in six parameters and three stars in overall effectiveness.

14.47 Some of the positive features of the website highlighted were its accessibility to market professionals needing specialised information; intelligent use of internet's strength; large amounts of stored data and archived material; interactivity and value-added functions; and alternative formats to provide most documents. Inconsistent navigation, confusing search engines, "breadcrumb" tracking system, lack of adequate summaries and non-specialised material were some of the areas suggested for improvement in the study. The Reserve Bank has undertaken steps to implement the suggestions made in the study.

14.48 During the year, the Reserve Bank also continued its efforts towards making aware general public through its advertisement campaigns. It released advertisements in print and electronic media to educate the depositors of non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) about the criteria to be verified in a NBFC before depositing their money with them. The total telecast time of the advertisement was 10,280 seconds. Advertisements were also released in publications in 11 languages.

14.49 During the year, information dissemination at regional level witnessed an intensified effort. Several offices and departments set up helpdesks to clarify doubts raised by the general public through e-mail/ telephone/fax. The nodal officers manning the helpdesks replied to the queries relating to their departments. The e-mail addresses of help desks were placed on the Reserve Bank's website to facilitate direct interaction between members of public and the departments/offices. Some Regional Offices, such as, Chennai, Ahmedabad, Bangalore and New Delhi have installed an information kiosk in the reception area to facilitate access to information relating to their offices as well as general information to the public visiting their premises.

14.50 Wide publicity was given at the regional level to the Grievances Redressal Mechanism. The mechanism provides a forum to the public to seek redressal of their complaints against any department of the Reserve Bank. Some Regional Offices regularly organised workshops on adjudication of defective notes and detection of forged notes for bankers and officials representing Police, CID, Income Tax, Railways, Post and Telegraphs, Customs, Chamber of Commerce, etc.

14.51 Notice boards put up at strategic points in the Reserve Bank's various premises display information of interest/relevance to customers. Complaint boxes were also placed to receive customer complaints. The citizens' charter was prominently displayed in the Reserve Bank's premises.

14.52 The external relations cell in Central Office continued to attend to queries received on telephone/ fax/letter/e-mail from the press and the public seeking information and guidance relating to the areas of banking, finance, foreign exchange/investment.

14.53 The Library of the Department of Economic Analysis and Policy in the Central Office has an important role in the storage/retrieval and provision of information services within the Reserve Bank. The collection of the Library consists of 1,15,540 books and other documents, 436 print and 1700 CD-ROM journals, a CD-ROM collection of 950 and on line subscription to various electronic databases for books, journals, journal articles and other publications. The Library provides information support to various departments, training colleges and libraries in regional offices. The On-line Public Access Catalogue (OPAC) for books, periodicals and articles could be accessed through intranet. The Library added 1,033 new books, 683 gratis publications and 401 bound volumes during 2001-02. Library user training programmes were arranged for the benefit of officers of various departments of the Reserve Bank.

14.54 Evaluation of customers' satisfaction on Citizens' Charter through feedback mechanism was undertaken at quarterly intervals in respect of banking, foreign exchange and issue departments. Suggestions received were evaluated and implemented wherever feasible.

14.55 Some Regional Offices introduced telebanking facility during the year under review. Through this facility, banks and financial institutions can access their local transaction details as well as funds position in their current accounts maintained with the Reserve Bank.

14.56 Monthly customers' meets with exporters and importers were conducted for dissemination of information related to Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) at some centres. Workshops were organised and press releases issued to popularise the Electronic Funds Transfer and Electronic Clearing Service schemes. Training programmes/seminars for officials of State Governments/NBFCs and their auditors were conducted to familiarise them with the regulatory framework put in place by the Reserve Bank.

14.57 Regional Offices took several measures to implement Clean Note Policy, such as, increased disposal of soiled notes, organising special drives to mop up soiled and mutilated notes from public, making available fresh currency notes and coins through bank branches and other willing public organisations.

14.58 Regular interaction through customer service meets, officers' participation in meetings/seminars/ workshops and interaction with various organisations/ banks/institutions and dignitaries continued during the year. In addition, Regional Offices issued regular advertisements in local papers informing the public that they can seek redressal of their grievances by contacting designated officers.

14.59 Other customer friendly measures introduced by Regional Offices included operationalising electronic moving display boards flashing information useful to customers in the Banking Hall, deploying a floor marshall in the Banking Hall to guide and assist customers who come to the Reserve Bank's premises to transact business, preparing handouts/pamphlets especially on exchange control matters for customers and banks and disseminating information through interviews with local electronic media.

14.60 Issue and servicing of Relief Bonds have been decentralised/delegated to over 1,500 branches of banks including FI promoted private banks and Stock Holding Corporation of India Ltd. all over the country with larger number of access points for prospective investors. In addition, the demat form bonds styled as Bond Ledger Account have been made available to the investors.

14.61 The Reserve Bank decided to withdraw the requirement of obtaining succession certificate from the legal heirs, even for amounts exceeding Rs. 25,000, in the account of a deceased customer, subject to observance of certain safeguards. Similar guidelines were issued to banks for release of other assets such as safe custody articles and mortgaged security.

14.62 Banks were advised that it is not essential to open an account only through an introducer and it may be done on the basis of certain official documents such as passport, ration card, electoral card, identity card, driving licence, PAN card and sales tax number. Banks were also advised to follow a flexible approach by adopting alternate methods to establish identity of the person while opening an account. At the instance of the Government of India, banks were advised not to insist on production of ration cards for the purpose of verifying identity of an individual or proof of residence.

14.63 The Reserve Bank, in consultation with the Indian Banks' Association, examined the question of reducing further the outer limit for collection of outstation cheques. Since there was a scope for banks to further reduce this period of outer limit by introducing 'quick collection service' or by ascertaining the fate of collection by fax, etc., banks were advised to review their existing arrangements and capabilities and work out a scheme for reduction in collection period.

14.64 While updating passbooks of customers maintaining savings/current accounts, banks were advised to provide complete information regarding every transaction, by remodeling the packages, if necessary.

14.65 Banks were advised to remain vigilant about fraudulent encashment by unscrupulous persons opening deposit accounts in the name/s similar to already established concern/s resulting in erroneous and unwanted debit of drawer's accounts. Once the irregularity/fraud has been committed by their staff towards any constituent, the banks should acknowledge their liability and pay just claim as follows: i) in cases where bank is at fault, bank should compensate customer without demur and ii) in cases where neither the bank nor the customer is at fault, then also the bank should compensate customer (up to a limit).

14.66 An important objective of the Reserve Bank is to provide to the public an informed assessment of macro-economic and financial developments in the Indian economy through analytical research and data dissemination in line with international best practices. The Department of Economic Analysis and Policy (DEAP), which is responsible for preparation of the Reserve Bank's Annual Report, has been bringing out various publications to ensure timely, comprehensive and accurate information and analysis. During the year, the DEAP brought out the Reserve Bank's major publications, i.e., 'Report on Trend and Progress of Banking in India, 2000-01', 'Report on Currency and Finance, 2000-01' and 'State Finances : A Study of Budgets of 2001-02'. An important publication of the DEAP in recent years has been the 'Macroeconomic and Monetary Developments'. This document is issued along with the Statement on Monetary and Credit Policy and provides the macroeconomic background for policy formulation. In addition to the monthly dissemination of key economic and financial information in the Reserve Bank's Bulletin (and weekly dissemination through its Weekly Statistical Supplement), the 'Handbook of Statistics on Indian Economy, 2001' was released during the year. The Handbook database, which is a storehouse of information on various aspects of the Indian economy, was converted into a RDBMS platform to enable intelligent search features in a user-friendly manner in the CD-ROM. The DEAP takes into account feedback received from users of its publications to further improve the analytical and material content. The DEAP also assists other departments in the Reserve Bank in bringing out their publications. An inter-departmental Working Group has been set up to restructure the monthly Bulletin to enhance its analytical standards and information content.

14.67 The Department has been closely involved with promotion of country-level professional interactions within the SAARC region. SAARC-FINANCE which functioned as an informal network of SAARC countries’ central bank governors and finance secretaries was formally recognised with approved terms of reference by the SAARC Council of Ministers during the eleventh SAARC summit held in Kathmandu during January 2-3, 2002. Under the SAARC-FINANCE Staff Exchange Programme, three officers from Royal Monetary Authority of Bhutan and two officers from Central Bank of Sri Lanka visited the Reserve Bank during 2001-02.

14.68 The Development Research Group (DRG) of the Department, which was constituted in November 1991, continued to serve as a forum of constructive debate and interaction among eminent outside experts and officials within the Reserve Bank. The DRG has so far published 23 studies since its inception on a wide range of subjects relating to real, social, monetary, fiscal, banking and external sectors. A DRG Discussion Paper entitled "A Study of State Public Accounts in India - With Special Emphasis on State Provident Funds" was released during the year.

14.69 The Reserve Bank's Endowment Scheme under which the financial support is provided to various institutions for the purposes of research and training in areas of interest to the Reserve Bank was amended. The extant system of annual funding of Professorial Chairs in leading Universities/research institutions in India was replaced by corpus funds with the objective of according greater operational flexibility to host institutions and to streamline administrative procedures. The host institutions are required to invest the corpus funds in Government or other Trustee securities in a stipulated manner, and to meet expenditure in respect of the research/teaching activities from the interest earned out of the corpus funds. The new funding system would commence from 2002-03. New corpus funds were set up in apex national bodies promoting excellence in research and higher learning in areas of interest to the Reserve Bank.

14.70 A book entitled "Money, Income, Prices in 19^th Century India" by Prof. P.R. Brahmananda, undertaken as a research project under the Reserve Bank's Endowment Scheme, was published during the year.

14.71 Initiatives were also taken during the year to promote research and human resource development within the Reserve Bank. In order to enhance the motivational level of employees and encourage high quality research of international standards, it has been decided to reimburse a multiple of the submission fee, wherever applicable, for articles prepared by the employees and accepted for publication in reputed national/international journals. The scheme for deputing officers for undertaking M.Phil/Doctoral studies in reputed institutions is being streamlined. A mechanism is also being worked out to circulate the reports of officers attending conferences/ seminars/training programmes within India and abroad, including the posting of summary of such reports on the Reserve Bank's website.

14.72 With the focus of structural reforms in the Indian economy turning to the States, the need to focus on macroeconomic and financial developments at the regional level has assumed special importance. In this context, a Working Group was formed to assess and re-define the role of regional offices of the DEAP. The recommendations of the Working Group are under consideration.

14.73 During 2001-02, the Department of Statistical Analysis and Computer Services (DESACS) published the results of various Basic Statistical Return (BSR) surveys showing different distributional aspects and characteristics of deposits, credit and investments of scheduled commercial banks in India and a compendium "Selected Financial Statistics -Public Limited Companies, 1974-75 to 1999-2000 (Selected Industries)". Dissemination of International Banking Statistics (IBS) of India began during the year.

14.74 India's external debt statistics were successfully reconciled with the World Bank. The system of electronic reporting of R-Return transactions to the Reserve Bank by banks through the Foreign Exchange Transactions - Electronic Reporting System (FET-ERS) was extended to more than 1,500 authorised dealers (ADs). The development of a new version of FET-ERS and a new computerised Comprehensive Single Return (CSR) for all non-resident deposits to enable compilation of data on residual maturity basis was carried forward. An International Workshop on Commonwealth Secretariat - Debt Recording and Management System (CS-DRMS 2000+) for India, Maldives, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Kenya was organized in the College of Agricultural Banking, Pune during April 15, 2002 to May 2, 2002 in collaboration with the Commonwealth Secretariat (COMSEC), London.

14.75 The Department launched a Survey of Small Borrowal Accounts (each with a credit limit of Rs.2,00,000 or less) with March 31, 2001 as the reference period, with the objective of obtaining a profile and structural pattern of these accounts. The modalities to launch a Survey of India's Foreign Liabilities and Assets have been finalised to collect essential data for five quarters from March 2001 to March 2002.

14.76 The second phase of the data warehouse project, Central Database Management System (CDBMS), was completed during the year. During this phase, detailed technical architecture, data modeling and system design for the selected subject areas were completed. The third phase of the project, i.e., construction and implementation is under progress.

14.77 The Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) on Stock Market and other matters headed by Lt. General (Retd.) P.M. Tripathi visited Mumbai between July 10 and 12, 2001 to interact with various agencies including the Reserve Bank. The JPC had informal interactions with the Governor and senior officials of the Reserve Bank on various issues relating to the matters being investigated by them.

14.78 The Sub-Committee on Drafting and Evidence of the Committee of Parliament on Official Language visited the Reserve Bank's Offices at Thiruvananthapuram, Lucknow, and Panaji on September 12, December 26 and 31, 2001 respectively. The third sub-Committee of the Committee of Parliament on Official Language, visited Thiruvananthapuram on January 23, 2002.

14.79 Governor appeared before the Standing Committee on Finance for a discussion on the Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management Bill, 2000 in October 2001.

14.80 Senior officials of the Reserve Bank at the Regional Offices of RPCD at Ahmedabad, Bhubaneswar, Bhopal, Chennai, Hyderabad, Jaipur, Kolkata, Panaji and Thiruvananthapuram as well as senior officials of Central Office of RPCD appeared before various Parliamentary Committees, viz., Standing Committee on Agriculture, Estimates Committee, House Committee, Standing Committee on Urban and Rural Development, Standing Committee on Food, Civil Supplies & Public Distribution and Standing Committee on Finance during the year on several occasions.

14.81 The Public Accounts Committee, headed by Sardar Buta Singh, visited Mumbai and had discussions at the Reserve Bank on June 19, 2002 with Governor on management of fiscal imbalances and fiscal liabilities.

14.82 Dr. Bizay Sonkar Shastri, Chairman of National Commission for SCs/STs visited Mumbai and had discussions with Shri Vepa Kamesam, Deputy Governor on June 6, 2002.

14.83 Seven meetings of the Central Board were held during the year, of which four meetings were held at traditional centres, viz., Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai and Kolkata and three at non-traditional centres, viz., Lucknow, Panaji and Ahmedabad. Forty-six weekly meetings of the Committee of the Central Board were held during the year at Mumbai. The Committee of the Central Board as usual, attended to the current business of the Bank, including approval of the Reserve Bank's weekly accounts pertaining to the Issue and the Banking Departments. The discussions at the meetings of the Central Board broadly covered matters relating to general superintendence and direction of the Reserve Bank's affairs, in which the Directors, with their vast experience in diverse fields, actively contributed to important decisions pertaining to currency management, information technology, human resource development, banking supervision, monetary and credit policy, the Reserve Bank's accounting policy, etc.

14.84 In addition to the above, six meetings of the Inspection and Audit Sub-Committee (IASC), five meetings of Building Sub-Committee and three meetings of Staff Sub-Committee were held during the year. These Sub-Committees of the Central Board have been constituted to assist the Central Board in direction of the Reserve Bank's affairs. During the year, the Inspection and Audit Sub-Committee reviewed the critical areas pointed out in the Inspection and Audit Reports and the overall compliance position of these reports at periodical intervals with a view to maximising productivity and efficiency of operations. It gave several directions for improving the systems and procedures in the Reserve Bank. The Building Sub-Committee advised the Reserve Bank during the year on various matters including construction/rehabilitation of office buildings and staff quarters, setting up of Close Circuit TV/ Access Control System for strengthening security arrangements in the Reserve Bank and surveillance over it, standardisation of specifications required for work stations in the Reserve Bank's premises, laying of backbone structured cabling system for connectivity with INFINET, etc. The Staff Sub-Committee, which mainly deals with the proposals for sanction of additional posts in different departments, also considered matters pertaining to manpower planning.

14.85 Dr. Y. V. Reddy, was reappointed as Deputy Governor of the Bank for a further period of two years commencing from September 1, 2001.

14.86 Shri Vepa Kamesam and Shri G. P. Muniappan took over as Deputy Governors of the Bank from July 1, 2001.

14.87 Shri C.M. Vasudev, Secretary (Economic Affairs), Ministry of Finance, Department of Economic Affairs was nominated as the Government nominee Director on the Central Board under Section 8(1)(d) of the Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934 with effect from December 3, 2001 in place of Shri Ajit Kumar.

14.88 Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam resigned from the Central Board of Directors and the Local Board (Northern Area) of the Bank in June 2002.

14.89 Shri D.P. Sarda, Executive Director retired from the Bank's service from the close of business on July 31, 2001.

14.90 Smt. K.J. Udeshi was appointed as Executive Director of the Bank with effect from August 1, 2001.

14.91 Shri M.R. Umarji, Executive Director (on deputation), Department of Non Banking Supervision (DNBS) relinquished charge of his office from the close of business on November 30, 2001 on completion of his tenure in the Bank.

14.92 Shri N. Sadasivan, former Deputy Managing Director, State Bank of India was taken on deputation as Executive Director, Department of Non Banking Supervision (DNBS), and he assumed charge of his office with effect from December 10, 2001.

14.93 Mr. Oduetse A. Motshidisi, Deputy Governor and Mr. Moses D Pelaelo, Director, Banking Supervision Department, Bank of Botswana visited the Bank on September 6, 2001 and met Shri G.P. Muniappan, Deputy Governor and other senior officials of the Department of Banking Supervision.

14.94 A delegation of French Parliamentary Members headed by Mr. Andre Lajoinie, visited the Bank on September 19, 2001, as a part of study tour of India and held discussions with Dr. Y.V. Reddy, Deputy Governor and other senior executives of the Bank.

14.95 Dr. William White, Economic Advisor, Bank for International Settlements (BIS) visited the Bank on December 14, 2001 to address a seminar on "Changing Global Economy and the Role of Monetary Policy".

14.96 Mr. Lyonpo Yeshey Zimba, Finance Minister of Bhutan, visited the Bank on January 22, 2002 and held discussions with Deputy Governor Shri G.P. Muniappan.

14.97 Mr. T. PadoaSchioppa, Member, Executive Board of European Central Bank visited the Bank from January 24 to 25, 2002. He met the Governor and Deputy Governors Dr. Y.V. Reddy and Shri G.P. Muniappan.

14.98 Mr. A.S. Jayawardena, Governor, Central Bank of Sri Lanka, visited the Bank from February 14 to 15, 2002. He met Governor, Deputy Governor Shri Vepa Kamesam and other senior officials of the Bank.

14.99 Mrs. Stephane Pallez, Secretary of International Affairs (Treasury Department in the Ministry of Economy, Finance and Industry) in Paris visited the Reserve Bank and had discussions with Governor on May 2, 2002.

14.100 Mr. Anwar-ul-Haq Ahady, Governor, Da Afghan Bank (Central Bank of Afghanistan) visited Mumbai and had discussion with Governor on June 4, 2002.

14.101 The accounts of the Reserve Bank were audited by M/s. Kapoor Tandon & Co., Kanpur, M/s. N. C. Rajagopal & Co., Chennai, M/s. P.K. Mitra & Co., Kolkata, M/s. R.K. Khanna & Co., New Delhi, M/s. Chandabhoy & Jassoobhoy, Mumbai and M/s. P.B. Vijayraghavan & Co., Chennai. All the six audit firms were re-appointed by the Central Government.