Mega Bank Merger In Panjab; Farm Leaders Meet SC Appointed Committee

The Panjab government is set to amalgamate its District Central Cooperative Banks (DCCBs)  with Punjab State Cooperative Bank (PSCB) in a move to ensure capital adequacy and reduce duplication of administrative costs. Led by Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema, a delegation met top Reserve Bank of India (RBI) officials in Mumbai on the 6–7 Jan. Panjab government presented two proposals: one to amalgamate all 20 DCCBs with the PSCB and another to amalgamate 16 DCCBs, excluding those in Jalandhar, Kapurthala, Nawanshahr, and Hoshiarpur which have not passed resolutions for voluntary amalgamation. The RBI is likely to consider the proposal to amalgamate the 16 DCCBs, whose general bodies have already passed the resolutions. Meanwhile, the Punjab and Haryana High Court flagged the absence of a clear policy for regularization of long-serving contractual employees under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGA), now replaced by the Viksit Bharat Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) Act (VB-G RAM G). The Bench said the workers had been left in a state of uncertainty and insecurity due to the absence of a clear policy for regularization, despite their sustained contribution, experience and commitment. Meanwhile, amid continuing factionalism among the top leadership of the Panjab Indian National Congress, the party is rolling out a mass agitation centered on rural employment. INC will launch the Save MGNREGA Struggle in Panjab from Gurdaspur on 15 Jan to counter the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) statewide public awareness campaign on the VB-G RAM G scheme. The Panjab BJP unit launched the campaign from village Kheowali Dhaba in Fazilka district on 7 Jan to counter what it termed misinformation being spread by the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and the INC. Additionally, farm leaders from the Sanyukta Kisan Morcha (non-political) met the Supreme Court-appointed committee to resolve farmer grievances on 9 Jan in Chandigarh. Citing rise in farmer suicides due to economic distress, farm leaders, who were present from across India, stressed the need for a legal guarantee on Minimum Support Price for crops. Jagjit Singh Dallewal, convener of the SKM (non-political) said that farmers had suffered losses to the tune of over USD 51.6B due to the denial of assured price for crops (earlier coverage).