Exhorting UCB delegates to grab the opportunity of becoming Promoter Members of Umbrella Organization, senior cooperator H K Patil said it’s a time to strengthen the upcoming body. Patil was speaking at the 64th AGM of NAFCUB held at the NCUI campus on Wednesday.
“It has been our decade long dream and the dream is becoming a reality today, thanks to the efforts of Nafcub President and his team. In the last six months we have had more than 20 meetings on the conceptualization of Umbrella; it has even been registered”, informed Patil.
“It is time for us to strengthen the UO financially and we ask for only 10 paisa from your Rs 100; it’s peanuts”, said Patil while congratulating Jyotindra Mehta for encashing his good will with NCDC and securing a share of Rs 200 crore from it.
Elaborating on contributions from different states, Patil informed that so far only Rs 35 crore has been collected. Gujarat has given Rs 24 crore, Karnataka Rs 6 crore and Maharashtra about Rs 2-3 crores. Other states are mulling over the issue and they should act fast, he said, adding Maharashtra also needs to cough out much more towards the Umbrella Organization.
Patil clarified that the RBI has already given instruction that the share in UO would never be NPA. “You may not get a dividend for a year or two but your share will be safe”, he assured. RBI is watching UCBs’ response to UO and there is a need for us to strengthen it financially, he stressed.
It bears recalling that the national level Umbrella Organisation (UO) is expected to provide liquidity and capital support to member co-operative banks. It will contribute to the strength and vibrancy of the sector. In the times of frequent cyberattacks, UO would also give robust software technology to the small UCBs which cannot afford to buy the same for themselves.
In the second part of his speech H K Patil lambasted RBI and said it has misguided the govt in passing the B R Amendment Act which is at variance with the constitution of India on certain accounts. He cited the case of 8 years tenure and said it Is a disruptive move by the RBI.
“Times are tough for UCBs as they are either liquidated or amalgamated. Some are even forced to be
privatized”, said Patil asking how a public property like UCB could be given into private hands.
Admitting that the interaction between the new Cooperation Ministry and Nafcub has increased a lot ever since Amit Shah has taken over, Patil said increasing cases of penalty by RBI even on minor violations is something to worry about.
UCBs are given no leeway to operate while PSU Banks are waived off Rs 9.90 lakh crore by the govt. The language of RBI has also become somewhat police-like and it has no sympathy for UCBs. We are here for social service and that profit is not our top priority, is something RBI has failed to understand in so many years, lamented Patil.
Patil, however ended his speech on a positive note and said that the next AGM would be unique in the sense that UCBs will have their Umbrella Organization by then. “Our future looks optimistic”, he added.
