Fill backlog vacancies of SCs, keep record of outsourced jobs, FM Sitharaman directs PSU banks

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, on Tuesday, asked public sector banks (PSBs) to fill the backlog vacancies of Scheduled Castes (SCs) in time bound manner and enhance their coverage in all schemes. 

Sitharaman made this statement at a meeting to review the performance of Public Sector Banks (PSBs) on Credit and other Welfare Schemes for Scheduled Castes with the Chairman & Managing Director (CMD) of the PSBs.

In the meeting, Sitharaman reviewed the various measures taken by PSBs in giving credit to persons belonging to the SC community and their welfare in terms of reservation, backlog vacancies, functioning of welfare, and grievances redressal mechanism. She also urged PSBs to make proper digital records for jobs being outsourced, especially for posts like Safai Karamcharis starting October 1, 2022.

Sitharaman also directed that the redressal of all pending grievances about the SC community may be taken up in the special drive by the Department of Financial Services (DFS) from October 2. She further advised PSB heads to look into the need for capacity building and entrepreneurship development as SCs constitute about 18 per cent of the total workforce of the banks and financial institutions (FIs).

FM Sitharaman asked the CEOs of PSBs and FIs to provide forward and backward linkages through the convergence of various schemes for SCs by government departments while giving them financial assistance. Sitharaman also directed banks to apprise National Commission for Scheduled Castes twice a year on SC-related credit and recruitment.

The Finance Minister also said that the objective of the meeting was to bring all stakeholders on a common platform to work together for the betterment and upliftment of the SC community. She stated that performance in schemes like the National Rural Livelihood Mission (NRLM), where 21 per cent of the credit-linked Self-Help Groups (SHGs) were SCs, and in street vendor's Atma Nirbhar Nidhi (SVANidhi), which has 19 per cent SCs as the beneficiaries, is satisfactory.

Apart from Sitharaman, the review meeting was also attended by Vijay Sampla, Chairman, National Commission for Scheduled Castes (NCSCs); and Members NCSCs like Subhash Ramnath Pardhi and Anju Bala; Union Minister of State for Finance Bhagwat Kisanrao Karad; and Sanjay Malhotra, Secretary, Department of Financial Services (DFS), along with senior officials of the DFS and NCSC.