Poor get poorer
As always, given the inequities built into the global economic system, the poorest people in the world have been the…
Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Friday opposed the proposed privatisation of the Industrial Development Bank of India (IDBI) by the central government, and supported its continuation in the public sector.
While meeting with the delegation, he assured the IDBI Officers Association that he would write to the Prime Minister, seeking withdrawal of the proposed move, which would adversely affect around 20,000 IDBI staffers across the country.
"The delegation pointed out that the Union Finance Minister during his budget speech in the Lok Sabha on 29 February had stated that the central government has no obligation to hold a minimum 51 per cent stake in IDBI, thereby effectively announcing the intention to privatise it," said an official.
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The delegation informed the Chief Minister that the latest announcement is a breach of assurance made on the floor of Parliament by the then Atal Behari Vajpayee government in December 2003, when the issue of IDBI privatisation was last taken up.
"Increase in the Non Performing Assets (NPA) of IDBI is being wrongly projected as an excuse to privatise it, since the NPAs or stressed loans of this bank are loans due from corporate houses and big business, as no priority sector loans are involved in this Bank, and reduction of government equity would mean selling this equity to the private hands which may include the very same defaulters who have not repaid the loans to the Bank," the delegation stated.
IDBI officers pointed out that the projected figure of Rs 19,000 crore as NPAs is not a correct estimate, since nearly 50 per cent of this amount comprises recoverable dues and that too from big corporates.
Opposing the central government’s move, the officers and employees of the IDBI recently observed a four-day strike from 28-31 March.
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