Centre proposes merger of Dena Bank, Vijaya Bank, Bank of Baroda
New Delhi, Sep 17 : The government on Monday proposed the merger of three state-run banks - Dena Bank, Vijaya Bank and the Bank of Baroda - into an amalgamated entity and has directed their respective boards to consider the proposal, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley announced. This is the second such exercise in the last 18 months
"The Alternative Mechanism made the decision today and it has been proposed to the individual bank boards to take a decision. Boards would meet and after consultation take appropriate action," Jaitley said.
"This will hopefully create another mega bank which will be sustainable. The amalgamated entity would increase banking operations and its ability to go for further consolidation."
In the previous such mega merger, five associate banks and the Bharatiya Mahila Bank became part of the state-run State Bank of India on April 1, 2017, making the country's largest lender among the world's top 50 banks.
Besides the Finance Minister, the Alternative Mechanism includes Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and Railway Minister Piyush Goyal.
Noting that one of the banks proposed in this merger was under the Reserve Bank of India's Prompt Corrective Action (PCA) framework on account of its massive accumulated non-performing assets (NPAs), or bad loans, Jaitley said: "The consolidated entity's capacity to absordb a weaker bank guided our decision to propose this merger to the boards."
"No employee would face adverse service conditions due to the merger," he added.
According to Finance Ministry officials here, the proposed merger would lead to the creation of the country's third largest banking entity in the country.
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LS passes bill to open up nuclear sector for private participation
New Delhi (PTI): Lok Sabha on Wednesday passed the nuclear energy bill with Union minister Jitendra Singh asserting that it would help India achieve its target of 100 GW atomic energy generation by 2047.
The Sustainable Harnessing and Advancement of Nuclear Energy for Transforming India (SHANTI) Bill, which seeks to open the tightly-controlled civil nuclear sector for private participation, was passed by voice vote amid a walkout by the opposition.
Singh termed the bill a "milestone legislation" that will give a new direction to the country's developmental journey.
"India's role in geopolitics is increasing. If we have to be a global player, we have to follow global benchmarks and global strategies. The world is moving towards clean energy. We too have set a target of 100 GW of nuclear energy capacity by 2047," he said.
The opposition contended that the bill diluted provisions of the Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Act, 2010 that passed on the liability for a nuclear incident on to the suppliers of nuclear equipment.
