Fraud hit PNB ranked best PSB for digital transactions
New Delhi, Aug 25 : Punjab National Bank (PNB), which was recently hit by a multi billion dollar fraud by manipulation of its financial messaging -- Swift -- system, has been ranked as the best PSU bank in the overall digital transactions category in India.
The bank said in a statement on Saturday: "Based on the recent findings of DFS (Department of Financial Services), PNB is ranked the number 1 PSU bank in digital transactions in India."
A Rs 13,500-crore fraud came to light in January, when it was found that the financial messaging system SWIFT was manipulated. It was used to issue Letters of Undertakings (LoUs) to conduct the fraud.
In the aftermath of the fraud, the bank had to rectify and strengthen its internal controls.
According to the PNB statement, the report card on the banking sector's performance in digital transactions as on July 31, 2018 was prepared by the Ministry of Finance.
As per the DFS' findings, PNB's average percentage of technical declines is only 0.83 per cent of the total transactions. It has been rated as the sixth best in the overall category amongst all banks in India for digital performance.
"The bank is fully committed to 'Digital India' initiative," the statement said.
"The bank is rated as 'Good' by the government with a score of '71' which is the highest category of performance."
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Maharashtra sets up state vaccination task force to strengthen immunisation programme
Mumbai (PTI): The Maharashtra government has set up a State Vaccination Task Force to strengthen the regular immunisation programme and review the progress of related campaigns, a health department official said on Monday.
The State Vaccination Task Force will comprise at least 29 members and will be headed by the administrative head of the health department, he informed.
The government has also constituted separate district-level and municipal vaccination task forces to improve implementation and address challenges at the grassroots level, he said.
Municipal task forces, chaired by respective civic commissioners, have been constituted in view of the vast urban population in Maharashtra and the role of civic bodies in implementing different health programmes.
The district-level task forces will function under the chairmanship of collectors.
"Complete immunisation of children at the appropriate age is an extremely simple, cost-effective and highly effective measure to reduce child mortality and the prevalence of diseases among kids. Immunisation is a powerful tool for reducing illness in children," maintained the official.
To ensure full vaccination of all children, the state government implements various campaigns from time to time as per the central government guidelines, he pointed out.
"Active participation and cooperation of other relevant government departments are essential (in making these campaigns successful)," according to the official.
The state-level body will review the regular immunisation programme, associated campaigns and vaccine-preventable diseases in detail. It will also conduct focused assessments of high-risk districts and municipal corporations, including vacancies at district, municipal and sub-district levels, availability of cold chain equipment, resource gaps and training requirements, he noted.
The state task force will review allocation and utilisation of funds for immunisation and ensure timely action by officers concerned based on reports from district and municipal task forces and state-level monitoring mechanisms, the official said.
It will also ensure active coordination and participation of other government departments in immunisation drives, while district and municipal task forces will carry out similar functions at their respective levels, the official added.
