V S Das, the former RBI official who has been instrumental in taking the idea of Umbrella Organization to realization, has said that with UO in place cases like Madhavpura or PMC would be taken care of.
Das helped the idea of UO when he was the ED in RBI by heading a panel on the subject. Later, when he retired NAFCUB-the apex body of urban cooperative banks assigned him with the task of giving it practical shape. “We are all working on it; with Jyotindra Mehta as the Chief Engineer, we are trying to help achieve the goal of an Umbrella for UCBs”, Das had said in a lighter vein.
But the big question is: would a body of Rs 300 crore or say Rs 500 crore be able to absorb a shock of Rs 2500 crore as is being revealed in the case of PMC Bank?
As Das explained in the recently concluded Nafcub AGM, Umbrella’s main concern is financial help, technological upgradation and capacity building. It has neither the right nor the mandate to inspect the accounts of UCBs, which is done once in a year by the RBI.