RBI mulls upgrade of officers

In an attempt to improve employee morale, the Reserve Bank of India mulls a proposal to upgrade the post of regional director to the level of executive director in the four metropolitan cities -- Chennai, Mumbai, Kolkata and New Delhi.

According to sources close to the development, a proposal to this effect has been forwarded to the top management by the bank's human resources department. 

A source said that since RBI has been offloading its stake in most banks and financial institutions, there is little scope for the promotion of senior employees within the central bank. Earlier, these senior employees were posted in other financial institutions where RBI was a shareholder.

This has resulted in greater discontentment among the employees across all levels of hierarchy. "In 2007, the central bank witnessed one of the highest level of exodus of employees from every level of the management to jobs overseas or in the private sector," said an employee.

Similarly, to attract good talent at the entry level, RBI has started summer internships and young scholars award scheme for various universities so that students at a very early stage in their life are exposed to the working of the central bank. If they prefer, they could think of RBI as a long-term career prospect.

Sources said that employee morale has taken a beating, particularly in the last one year. This is because the top management has issued letters of displeasure to various officers in senior levels, which may impact their career growth in future.

In some cases, employees have been asked to retire voluntarily in public interest, a source said. The central bank did not respond to a faxed query.

These letters of displeasure have been issued on the basis of the past performance of the employees. Sources said, once a case is forwarded citing public interest, it leaves very little scope for further enquiry.

They added that many employees do not even get the chance to put forward their side of the story before receiving such strictures.

Big Push

• The move is aimed at improving RBI employees' morale 
• There is little scope for the promotion of senior employees within the central bank as RBI has been offloading its stake in most banks and financial institutions. 
• In 2007, RBI witnessed one of the highest levels of exodus of employees from every level of management to jobs overseas or in the private sector.