The neo-liberal policy since its implementation in 1991 has been a nightmare for the common people and a bonanza for the corporate, both national and foreign, and the rich. The common people are being burdened with indirect taxes through the budgets while concessions are lavishly granted to the rich and the corporate. The government has no hesitation to allow, Foreign Direct Investment, even to the extent of 100%, in Key and strategic sectors like Defense, Telecom, Railways, Bank and Insurance even compromising national security. Public Sector which has played a significant role in nation building is under severe attack. Labour laws are being amended to deny the workers their due rights and benefits. Farmer deaths are continuing due to utter negligence of the government. While the wealth of big corporates like Ambani and Adani have increased many hundred folds, the condition of the common people continue to be pitiable. It was a big attack on our pension system when the draconian PFRDA bill was enacted in 2013 by the then UPA government with the active support of BJP.
Demonetisation, the Himalayan blunder, resorted to by the Narendra Modi government, has resulted in loss of jobs to lakhs of workers and putting the common people to utter distress and poverty. The implementation of GST without much preparation has caused unprecedented price rise of essential commodities.
Now, the government is up with another draconian bill, Financial Resolution and Deposit Insurance (FRDI) bill. . The draft bill was approved by the central cabinet in June, 2017 and tabled in the Parliament in August. A joint Parliamentary Committee is expected to submit its report in the winter session of Parliament beginning 15 December,2017. The Finance Ministry claims that the bill seeks to protect customers of financial service providers in times of financial distress. But certain provisions in the bill contradicts the claim. A ‘bail-in’ clause which suggests that deposit or money could be used by failing financial institutions to stay afloat. Another controversial inclusion is that the Resolution Corporation (rescue body) which is proposed under the Bill, can use your money in case the bank sinks. In a nutshell, our hard earned money deposited in the banks are not secure. Recently an advertisement by a mutual fund firm suggested transfer of bank deposits to mutual funds for safety, as bank deposits are no more secure. So, it will be detrimental to the interest of lakhs of retail bank depositors, if the bill is enacted with the dangerous provisions.
It is a known fact that our banks are driven to financial distress due to bad loan or NPA which means unpaid big loans availed by the big corporate. Loans of large amount involving thousands of crores of rupees are granted to the corporate without proper security and they never repay. It is reported that there is a racket for sanctioning such loans with influential politicians, bank directors/officers etc. Banks are asked to write off a large portion of such bad loans periodically and in addition, the government is giving money from the exchequer to bailout the banks in acute financial distress. Further, the government, through the ensuing bill, is aiming to take away the hard earned money of small depositors for this purpose. The attack on common depositors had already inflicted by reducing the interest rates of small saving deposits.
Therefore a concerted and united movement is necessary to resist this new onslaught on the common people.
