Quota at top: State-run banks and PSUs fare much better than Govt

Indian Express: New Delhi: Thursday, January 17, 2019.

There’s a glimmer when it comes to major public sector banks and undertakings, with banks based in the south leading the way in ensuring reservation benefits, according to data obtained by The Indian Express under the RTI Act.

SCHEDULED CASTES (SCs), Scheduled Tribes (STs) and Other Backward Classes (OBCs) are under-represented in the upper rungs of the government and its central universities. But there’s a glimmer when it comes to major public sector banks and undertakings, with banks based in the south leading the way in ensuring reservation benefits, according to data obtained by The Indian Express under the Right To Information (RTI) Act.

The State Bank of India (SBI), the largest public sector bank, has fulfilled the quota entitlement for SCs and STs among officers (see chart below). And among PSUs, aluminium major NALCO has almost double the quota of ST officers — the prescribed reservation entitlement is 15 per cent for SCs, 7.5 per cent for STs and 27 per cent for OBCs.

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The State Bank of India (SBI), the largest public sector bank, has fulfilled the quota entitlement for SCs and STs among officers.

However, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), the central banking institution, is seen lagging behind in these quota categories for officers.

As the new 10 per cent quota for the poor among those who are not beneficiaries of reservation got the President’s nod, The Indian Express reported Wednesday that SCs, STs and OBCs are not adequately represented among Group A and Group B officers in the central government.

And that among the 40 central universities, the number of Professors and Associate Professors appointed under the OBC category was zero the quotas are mandatory only up to the level of Assistant Professor.

RTI data of major banks and PSUs present a better picture overall although, in the Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC), the leading insurer, officers (Class 1 and Class 2) under the OBC quota form just 9.41 per cent of the total of 55,633 officers.

• Of 13 major banks, all have more SC officers than their quota entitlement.
• In the OBC quota, the number of officers in the 13 banks are less than the entitlement but at 20.75 per cent is better than in 71 government departments (14.94 per cent).
• In the RBI, only 13.81 per cent of 6,908 officers are from the OBC category, 14.93 per cent from SC and 6.31 per cent from ST.

Banks headquartered in Chennai and Manipal (Karnataka) show a significant uptick for OBCs.

• Chennai-based Indian Overseas Bank: 26.35 per cent of 14,522 officers.
• Chennai-based Indian Bank: 29.05 per cent of 11,098 officers.
• Manipal-based Syndicate Bank: 25.28 per cent of 8,591 officers.

Among the 11 PSUs who responded to RTI requests, Bhubaneswar-based NALCO showed the way in ST quota representation (16.6 per cent) but lagged in OBCs with just 8.81 per cent.

Construction major NBCC recorded dismal quota figures with only 4.77 per cent officers from the ST segment and 17.77 per cent OBCs.

In their RTI replies, the RBI specified that the data provided was up to June 30, 2018, LIC up to March 31, Syndicate Bank up to November 15, UCO Bank up to October 31, and the others up to September 30 IDBI, Punjab and Sind Bank and Andhra Bank did not specify any date.