‘Frauds showed us loopholes in banking’

Nagpur: There is a lot to be done in the banking sector to address the problem of non performing assets (NPA). “There have been frauds that have taught us about the loopholes in this industry. However, by learning from such minute mistakes and keeping note of the crimes, it’s possible to bring about a change in the banking system,” said

Tamal Bandyopadhyay

, a senior journalist and author of ‘Pandemonium: The Great Indian Banking Tragedy,’ at the event organized by the Vidarbha Literary Fest (VLF) on Saturday.

Bandyopadhyay has been a keen banking student for the past 25 years and is an award-winning national business columnist. Economist

Tejinder Singh Rawal

, during a conversation with Bandyopadhyay at the VLF event, said, “It was essential to have a book which covered all the aspects of the banking sector. No other person could have done this all-around work of writing about the Indian banking system better than Bandyopadhyay.”

Sachin Jahagirdar, secretary, VLF, shared his opening remarks by promoting the importance of such run-up events and how people can contribute. He said, “VLF plays an important part for our city and anyone can come up to volunteer or be part of this initiative. We have planned more such run-up events in the upcoming months and we appreciate the participation and more book readers to surround us in the future.”

The discussion revolved around the inside stories in ‘The Great Indian Banking Tragedy’. Sharing an anecdote, Bandyopadhyay said, “The finance minister has been stressing that the banks keep a hawk eye on the risks. Fear psychosis is one of the reasons why credit growth is not taking place as nobody wants to be penalized.”

Bandyopadhyay also shared various stories he recalled during his journey of writing the book.

He later interacted with the audience.

The session was a fun-filled conversation between Rawal and Bandyopadhyay where several stories and mentions from the book were referenced. Throughout the session, Bandyopadhyay shared various stories that he recalled during his journey of writing the book. He was later seen interacting with the audience in an informative Q&A session where he was asked questions related to Asset Reconstruction Company (ARC), Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC), updated versions and variations in the current banking scenario, the risks involved, and the ease with which people can now conduct banking, and so on.

Along with Bandyopadhyay, the presence of Divya Lakhera, author of ‘Teachers Shine Like Stars’, a book about empowering teachers and their role in the current world, was also present. The event was hosted by Aditi Chhajer, volunteer, VLF.


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