DAMODARAN REPORT

He is not the Nettur Damodaran who was the member of 1stloksabha

Chairman: M Damodaran (Ex SEBI chairman From Feb 2005-2008, presently Advisor and
Chief Representative in India for the ING Group of Netherlands)
The committee, headed by former Sebi Chairman M Damodaran, has submitted its
report to the Ministry of Corporate Affairs which would take appropriate steps after
studying the recommendations.

WHY COMMITTEE FORMED:

India ranked very low i.e. 132nd position in World Bank's ease of doing business
list among total of 183 countries globally. The panel set-up in August last year to
suggest ways for improving business climate in India.
Also India ranked below most of the SAARC countries (South Asian Association for
Regional Cooperation-organisation of South Asian nations, established on 8 December
1985 ; Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka,
Afghanistan; headquartered in Kathmandu, Nepal)

and was last among BRICS countries

(Brazil,Russia,India,China and South Africa).

Recommendations titled 'Reforming the Regulatory Environment for doing Business in
India'

retrospective taxation as a big obstacle to attracting investment ALREADY an

example of British telecom Vodafone in India(explained in mrunal sirs article)

Recommendations:

Regulatory body should be more autonomous with transparent in selecting the heads.

Faster resolution of dispute through consent settlement and arbitration.

Easier set of regulation for MSME (Micro Small and Medium Enterprises)

The Committee constituted in June last year to review the

existing system of customer service and grievance redressal in
the banking system
The key focus of the Committee, to review the functioning of the Banking Ombudsman
Scheme.
The Banking Ombudsman (BO) Scheme was established by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI)
in 1995 to provide speedy solutions to grievances faced by bank customers. Although the
number of complaints received has increased in recent times, the lack of awareness among
the customers was a big concern.
The name 'ombudsman' is not easily understood by the common man and hence, it was
suggested that it be changed to a more suitable name, 'lokpal'.(ANNA HAZARE)
To have more offices of the Ombudsman apart from the ones in Maharashtra and Goa, to
make it more accessible to the masses.

another recommendation made by the unions was to have separate counters for senior
citizens installed at bank branches between the 1st and 10th of every month, to make it easier
for pensioners to collect their money.
to enhance consumer protection
The Committee expected to undertake a strict review of the existing system of attending
to customer service in banks, including the approach, attitude and fair treatment to customers
from retail, small and pensioners segment. The Committee asked to evaluate the existing
system of grievance redressal system going in banks, its structure and recommend measures
for fast resolution of complaints.

SENIOR CITIZENS HAVE LITTLE TO CHEER:

Recommendations on the subject of pensioners and senior citizens reads
as under:
" prioritised service should be given to senior citizens, physically handicapped persons by
effective crowd/people management available at all bank branches.
"Banks should maintain and fine-tune the functioning of their Centralised Pension Processing
Centres to ensure timely disbursal of pension, commencement of family pension on time and
error-free calculation of pension."

1. Each branch of a bank should have a separate count for attending to senior
citizens/physically challenged customers, who should be given priority over other customers
at that special counter.
2. Senior citizens and physically challenged customers should be provided with
singlewindow service, without their having to move from counter to counter to complete all
their banking transactions.
3. All the requests/requirements of senior citizens and physically challenged customers
must be attended to then and there,without telling them kal aayiye fir kal...., as is the practice
in most bank branches.As, their request for cheque books, updating of pass books, pension
payments, issue of deposit receipts, issue of interest/TDS (tax deduction at source)
certificates, etc.
4. Senior citizens at present offered an additional interest of up to 1% on all fixed deposits.
The same benefit of additional interest should be offered to them on their savings
deposits also, as there is no reason to exempt savings accounts from the given interest rates
offered to them.
5. The penalty, if levied on withdrawal of deposits before maturity, should not be applied to
senior citizens/physically-challenged customers, who should be given the normal rate of
interest applicable for the period for which the deposit has run, without any deductions. This
is based on the assumption that in most cases, their medical requirements might force them to
encash their deposits before maturity.
6. A certain percentage of safe deposits lockers, say 10%, may be reserved for senior
citizens and physically challenged customers, so that they are have a reasonable chance of
getting a locker facility in the same branch where they maintain their savings accounts.
7. In case the payment of pension to the customer is delayed due to the fault or mistake of
the bank, the pensioner should be properly compensated by giving appropriate savings bank
interest on the amount for the delayed period. If the delay beyond a reasonable period, say
seven days, the bank should be asked to pay a penalty of Rs100 per day of delay, as is the
system followed in failed ATM transactions.
8. At present, pensions disbursed only through - public sector banks, many pensioners have
to travel long distances to get their monthly pension, causing strain on the pensioners. To
prevent this problem, the RBI should arrange with both Central and state governments to
disburse pensions through all banks in the private sector also, so that the pensioners have the
option of getting pension from any commercial bank, public or private bank, nearer their
place of residence.
9.Biggest problem faced by pensioners variation in their signatures due to passage of time
and their old age. Banks should be asked to update the signatures of all senior citizens in the
their records periodically, say once in two years or as often as required, so that banks do not
have to dishonour their cheques due to variation in their signatures.

The other committees formed earlier for the same purpose:

Talwar Committee of 1975, the Goiporia Committee of 1990 and the
Tarapore Committee of 2004.

REFERENCES:
1.MONEY LIFE
2.WIKIPEDIA
3.INDIAN EXPRESS N HINDU
by KARAN RAJPAL