India Today [October 08, 2018] | Twist in the Tale

80 Pages·2018·7.901 MB·English

by  India Today

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R TWIST IN
THE TALE
WAS ANIL AMBANI
R 59,000 CRORE
RAFALE DEAL?
REVELATIONS PUT THE MODI
GOVERNMENT ON THE MAT
DIGITAL EDITION
THECHALLENGES THEBIG TRENDSINPOLL-BOUNDSTATES OC
OFJUSTICEGOGOI
www.indiatoday.in OCTOBER8,2018`60
9770254839909
RNI NO. 28587/75 REGISTERED NO. DL(ND)-11/6068/2018-20; U(C)-88/2018-20; FARIDABAD/05/2017-19 LICENSED TO POST WITHOUT PREPAYMENT TWIST IN WFWCFFAEIESTLAHEHREEEBPORAUNANJATODSRSBEMWLTEOAHRELTTVEKTESHSENAIIIOCSVVONUEER DDSELWGEHETTS
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RAFALED AL?FRESH
REVVEELLAATTIIOONNSSPPUUTTTTHHEEMMOODDII
GOVERNMENTONTHEMAT
EXCLUSIVE MULTIMEDIA CONTENT
ONLY FOR IPAD
COVER STORY
THE AMBANI
NATION
MOOD SWINGS
ASSEMBLY POLLS
BATTLE FOR THE MIDDLE
ASSEMBLY POLLS
RAJE HAS A BIG FIGHT ON HER HANDS
THE BIG STORY
A JUDGE WITH A DIFFERENCE

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FROM THE
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
www.indiatoday.in
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF: Aroon Purie
GROUP EDITORIAL DIRECTOR: Raj Chengappa T hedogfightoverthepurchaseof nothing to do with Ambani being chosen as
EDITOR: Ajit Kumar Jha (Research) 36 Rafale planes currently domi- an ofset partner for Dassault as it was the
GROUP CREATIVE EDITOR: Nilanjan Das; GROUP PHOTO EDITOR: Bandeep Singh
MANAGING EDITORS: Kai Jabir Friese, Rajesh Jha nating public discourse in the Indian government which had proposed
EXECUTIVE EDITORS: Damayanti Datta, S. Sahaya Ranjit, country reminds me of the dic- his name. And the Indian government all
Sandeep Unnithan
DEPUTY EDITORS: Prachi Bhuchar, Uday Mahurkar, Manisha Saroop tum, ‘Don’t confuse me with facts’. National along had been vehemently insisting that it
MUMBAI: M.G. Arun HYDERABAD: Amarnath K. Menon CHANDIGARH: Asit Jolly
leaders are calling each other thieves, liars, was Dassault’s decision, not theirs. A flurry
SENIOR EDITORS: Shweta Punj, Sasi Nair, Alokparna Das
JAIPUR: Rohit Parihar traitors and, of course, corrupt. Even Paki- of unconvincing denials ensued, with both
SENIOR ASSOCIATE EDITORS: Kaushik Deka, Ashish Mukherjee
MUMBAI: Suhani Singh, Kiran Dinkar Tare; PATNA: Amitabh Srivastava stan and the current and a former president governments saying they had nothing to do
ASSOCIATE EDITORS: Shougat Dasgupta, Chinki Sinha
of France have been dragged into the im- with Dassault’s choice.
KOLKATA: Romita Sengupta; BHOPAL: Rahul Noronha;
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Jeemon Jacob; BEIJING: Ananth Krishnan broglio. The two national parties seem to be Add to this heady cocktail are several
ASSISTANT EDITOR: PUNE: Aditi S. Pai
PHOTO DEPARTMENT: Vikram Sharma (Deputy Photo Editor), like two blindfolded boxers punching in the other controversial issues. What is the real
Rajwant Singh Rawat, Yasir Iqbal (Principal Photographers),
air hoping to land a knockout punch. A lot price of the aircraft? Is it cheaper than the
Chandra Deep Kumar (Senior Photographer); MUMBAI: Mandar Suresh
Deodhar (Chief Photographer), Danesh Adil Jassawala (Photographer); of half-truths are flying around, with facts one negotiated by the UPA government six
KOLKATA: Subir Halder (Principal Photographer);
CHENNAI: N.G. Jaison (Senior Photographer) becoming the biggest casualty. In the eye of years ago? Was it fully loaded or not in the
PHOTO RESEARCHERS: Prabhakar Tiwari (Chief Photo Researcher),
the storm is industrialist Anil Ambani. price? Why did we buy 36 aircraft instead of
Saloni Vaid (Principal Photo Researcher),
Shubhrojit Brahma (Senior Photo Researcher) The controversy is centred around the the 126 in the original UPA contract? Why
CHIEF OF GRAPHICS: Tanmoy Chakraborty
ART DEPARTMENT: Sanjay Piplani (Senior Art Director); Rs 30,000 crore ‘ofsets’ that Dassault and was HAL excluded from the deal when it
Angshuman De (Art Director); Devajit Bora (Deputy Art Director);
its associates have to spend with Indian was there originally? Did the prime minis-
Vikas Verma (Associate Art Director);
Bhoomesh Dutt Sharma (Senior Designer) manufacturers not necessarily related to ter short-circuit the purchase procedures of
Siddhant Jumde (Senior Illustrator)
PRODUCTION DEPARTMENT: Harish Agarwal (Chief of Production), the Rafale aircraft as part of the Rs 59,000 the government? Our cover story, written
Naveen Gupta (Chief Coordinator),
Vijay Kumar Sharma (Senior Coordinator) crore Rafale deal. The allegation is that the by Executive Editor Sandeep Unnithan, a
PUBLISHING DIRECTOR: Manoj Sharma younger Ambani’s joint venture with Das- defence expert who has written extensively
ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER: Anil Fernandes (Impact) sault has been favoured with all of the on the subject, tackles all these prickly ques-
IMPACT TEAM
Rs 30,000 crore because of his perceived tions to bring some sanity to the debate.
Senior General Manager: Jitender Lad (West)
General Manager: Mayur Rastogi (North), proximity to Prime Minister Narendra Meanwhile, Rafale has become the basis
Upendra Singh (Bangalore),
Kaushiky Gangulie (East) Modi. The suggestion that his company of one messy political slugfest although
GROUP CHIEF MARKETING OFFICER: Vivek Malhotra
Assistant General Manager: Garima Prashar (Marketing) is getting all of it is not true. There are 72 there is no clear evidence of middlemen or
SALES AND OPERATIONS: D.V.S. Rama Rao, Chief General Manager companies that have been identified by the bribes being paid. There are no Swiss bank
Deepak Bhatt, General Manager (National Sales)
Vipin Bagga, Deputy General Manager (Operations) French industrial partners in the deal— accounts or money trail like the Bofors
Rajeev Gandhi, Regional Sales Manager (North)
Safran, Thales, Dassault Aviation—for scandal. Besides, all these contracts will
the ofset. Ambani is likely to get a decent come to fruition only in three to five years’
share, but the biggest beneficiary will be the time. Regardless, the Congress party sees a
government organisation DRDO, or the De- chink in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s
fence Research and Development Organisa- shiny armour of probity and his proud boast
tion, with an estimated Rs 9,000 crore. of running a government free of corruption
Volume XLIII Number 41; For the week
The other big issue is that Ambani has or crony capitalism. Exactly what candidate
October 2-8, 2018, published on every Friday
no track record in defence manufacturing Modi had accused the UPA government of
● Editorial/Corporate Office Living Media India Ltd., India Today Group Mediaplex,
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Fax: [phone] ● E-1, Ground Floor, Videocon Towers, Jhandewalan Extn, ed his defence company only 12 days before This kind of mudslinging also does not
New Delhi ● Guna Complex, 5th Floor, Main Building, No.443, Anna Salai,
Chennai-600018; Phone: [phone] ● 201-204 Richmond T owers, 2nd Floor, the Rafale deal was announced on April bode well for India’s much-needed defence
12, Richmond Road, Bangalore-560025; Phones: 22212448, 22213037,
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Phones: 2377057, 2377058 ; Fax: [phone] ● 2/C, “Suryarath Bldg”, 2nd Floor, part-financed a film produced by actor Julie the best course is transparency. Bring out all
Behind White House, Panchwati, Office C.G. Road, Ahmedabad-380006; Phone:
26560393, 26560929; Fax: [phone] ● Copyright Living Media India Ltd. All Gayet, partner of former French President the facts and the rationale in an impartial
rights reserved througho ut the world. Reproduction in any m anner is p rohibited.
Printed and published by Manoj Sharma on behalf of Living Media Francois Hollande who signed the Rafale manner. Sunlight is the best sanitiser.
India Limited. Printed at Thomson Press India Limited,
deal, and issued a press release during Hol-
18-35 Milestone, Delhi Mathura Road, Faridabad-121007, (Haryana)
and at A-9, Ind ustrial Complex, Maraimalai N agar, District lande’s visit to India on January 26, 2017.
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Circus, New Delhi-110001. Editor: Raj Chengappa. To make matters worse, Hollande lit a fuse
● IN DIA TODAY does not take the re sponsibility for returning unsolicited
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All disputes are subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of French website Mediapart, he said he had (Aroon Purie)
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OCTOBER 8, 2018 (cid:3)INDIA TODAY (cid:3)1
I N S I D E
UPFRONT LEISURE
WHAT AILS AYUSHMAN TABLE TALK
BHARAT? PG 4 PG 55
BOOKS: INSIDE THE TRUMP Q&A: DEEPA MEHTA
WHITE HOUSE PG 12 PG 64
PRE-POLL SURVEY
20
COVER STORY 32
DOWN TO
COCKPIT CRISIS
THE WIRE
Allegations that Anil Ambani’s
Rajasthan wants change, MP could go
company was favoured in the
either way while Chhattisgarh will be a
Rs 59,000 crore Rafale deal have
close call, finds the India Today-Axis survey
the Modi government in a spot
HEALTH
46
HEART OF
THE MATTER
On World Heart Day 2018, the 10
commandments for your physical
and mental well-being
NEW CJI
42
JUDGMEN
DAY
What to expect as
Ranjan Gogoi gets
set to take charge of
the Supreme Court
COVER:Photo illustration by BANDEEP SINGH
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2 (cid:3)INDIA TODAY OCTOBER 8, 2018
GROUND ZERO
Misire and Fury
With the latest slugfest, both India and Pakistan have painted themselves
into a corner from which there are very few rational choices left
RAJ CHENGAPPA
L
ike a Greek tragedy,everynewplayscriptedby fendingstampswereissuedinJulywhenKhanwasnotin
India and Pakistantoimproverelationsbetween power,anditisamassiveintelligencefailureifIndiahas
them ends up witheitherasadorbadending.That discoveredthemonlynow.Asregardsattacksonsecurity
narrative hasn’tchangeddespitetheemergenceofa personnel,theBSFsoldierwasfounddeadwithhisthroat
new actor on thescene:ImranKhan.Thecricket- slitontheInternationalBorder(IB)adaybeforeIndia
ing legend-turned-politicianandnowprimeministerof acceptedthetalksoffer.Theonenewdevelopmentwasthe
Pakistan had complainedduringhiselectioncampaignthat abductionandkillingofthreeJammuandKashmirpolice-
he was portrayed in IndiaasaBollywoodvillain.Khanwas men.Butgiventhattherehasbeenaseriesofsuchincidents
being presumptuous. ManyIndianexpertsregardedhimas intheValleyintherecentpast,theIndiangovernment’s
a sidekick of the PakistanArmychiefQamarJavedBajwa, knee-jerkreactionremainspuzzling.
whom they consider thebigbaddie. Indiansourcesclaimthatourintelligenceagencieshad
Backed by the PakistanArmy,Khanrodetopower solidevidencethatPakistan-supportedterrorgroupshad
on the plank of forging a‘Naya(new)Pakistan’,ridding killedthethreepolicemenintheValleytodisrupttheforth-
the country of corruptionandsettingrightitsflailing comingpanchayatelections.TheymaintainthatifKhan
economy. Khan also signalledthathewaswillingtostart wassincere,heshouldhavegotthearmytoturnoffthetap
a new innings with India.Justamonthintothejob,he onterroristattacksintherun-uptothetalks.Theybelieve
was writing a letter to PrimeMinisterNarendraModiin Khan’seffortwasmoretoscorebrowniepointsinternation-
which he said he was keentomoveforwardonresolving allyandeasethepressurePakistanfacesfrommajorpowers
all outstanding issues, includingKashmir(Pakistan’score tocurbterrorism.IfthatwasIndia’sassessment,itshould
concern), terrorism (India’sbiggestconcern)andtrade nothaveagreedtotalksinthefirstplaceandavoideddoing
relations. He suggestedthatthe aflip-flopthatbeliesanyclaimof
respective foreign ministersmeeton foresightorstrategy.
the sidelines of the UN GeneralAs- Theoutcomeofthelatestslugfest
sembly currently on in NewYorkto isthatIndiaandPakistanhave
“explore the way forward”. nowboxedthemselvesintoaneven
India cautiously acceptedtheoffer tightercornerthanbefore.Withboth
but, within a day, reverseditsstand countriesadoptingevenmorerigid
and said the talks were offbecauseof postures,therearehardlyanyrational
“deeply disturbing developments”.The choicesleft.TheModigovernment
Ministry of External Affairsspokes- shouldintrospectastowhy,despite
person cited the “brutalkillings”of itsprofessedmuscularapproach,the
India’s security personnelandthe politicalsituationinKashmirremains
recent release of 20 postagestamps amess.Andwhyitisunabletodeter
by Pakistan glorifying terroristswho Pakistanfromstirringuptroublein
have targeted India as thereasons.He theValleyatwillorevenmanagerela-
went on to state, with unusualharsh- tionswithiteffectively.Theonusis
If India thought
ness, that “the evil agendaofPakistan alsoonPakistan,particularlyitsarmy
Imran’s ofer was
stands exposed and the truefaceof chief.IfBajwaclaimsthatlikeKhan
the new PM of PakistanImranKhan just an efort to hewantspeacebetweenthetwocoun-
has been revealed to theworld”.Khan tries,thentheminimumrequirement
score international
then hit out at Modi, tweeting:“All istoensurehisarmyobservesthe
brownie points,
my life I have come acrosssmallmen ceasefireagreementontheLoCand
occupying big offices whodonothave it shouldn’t have stemstheflowofinfiltratorsintothe
the vision to see the largerpicture.” Valley.Thereisalwayshopeandscope
agreed for talks in
The Indian statementwasfound fornewbeginnings,butthekeyisto
the irst place
wanting on several counts.Theof- guardagainsttragicendings.■
(cid:3) Illustration by SIDDHANT JUMDE
U P F R O N T
BIG MERGER, AADHAAR TO STAY,
SMALL GAINS WITH RIDERS
PG 7 PG 8
THE CRIMINALS INSIDE THE TRUMP
WE ELECT WHITE HOUSE
PG9 PG 12
S)
E
G
A
M
Y I
T
THE LAUNCH T
E
The PM issues health G
N/
cards in Ranchi A
H
on Sept. 23, 2018 Z K
A
W
R
A
P
MODICARE
MORE BUSINESS, LESS CARE
By Sulakshana Nandi
On Sunday, September 23, Prime Nadu, Maharashtra, Rajasthan and her pocket. Private hospitals have been
Minister Narendra Modi laun- Karnataka, have been implemented found providing unnecessary and selec-
ched the Pradhan Mantri Jan with annual covers ranging from tive profitable services.
Arogya Yojana (PMJAY) insurance Rs 30,000 to Rs 3 lakh per family. The So, while their benefits are un-
scheme aka ‘Modicare’. It was billed, PMJAY is designed on similar lines. certain, what are the costs of these
with his characteristic grandiloquence, It is necessary to look at the evidence schemes? The experience of states like
as the ‘world’s largest healthcare pro- from these schemes, which the govern- Kerala, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh
gramme’, a reform that will be ‘visible ment seems to have ignored. is that claims keep rising under these
from space’. Fact is the government’s These schemes are meant to protect schemes, premiums shoot up and the
National (Rural) Health Mission, people from incurring large expenses government ends up paying. In Chhat-
launched in 2013, covers a much larger on hospitalisation. Studies of previous tisgarh, for instance, the premium has
population than the 107 million fami- schemes show that patients have to pay increased from about Rs 300 to Rs
lies or 500 million supposed beneficia- from their pockets even though hospi- 1,100 in six years. The state will need to
ries of the PMJAY. tals are supposed to provide free servic- spend Rs 600 crore this year on insur-
For more than a decade, schemes es. According to the 71st round National ance for a cover of just Rs 50,000.
like the Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Sample Survey, an insured patient Claims money, it has been found,
Yojana at the national level, and state going to a private hospital still ended goes mainly to private hospitals:
schemes in Andhra Pradesh, Tamil up paying an average of Rs 18,000 from scheme data shows private hospitals
4 INDIA TODAY OCTOBER 8, 2018

UPFRONT
INDEX
‘Modicare’:
Boon or Illusion?
receiving80percentofclaims money in Chhattisgarh,
PM Modi launched what is being touted as the world’s largest
over70percentinAndhraPradesh and Maharash-
government healthcare scheme on September 23, a collaboration
traandmorethan60percentin Tamil Nadu. These
between the Centre and states to provide healthcare to over 500
hospitalsalsochargepatientson the sly. And in this
million people. Critics describe it as a smokescreen that gives the
schemeofthings,boththepublic and the government
impression of universal coverage without making meaningful space
losewhileprivatehospitalsprofit. in the budget for such a far-reaching scheme. Still, no one would
ThePMJAYwilldamagepublic healthcare deny that Indian governments have thus far failed to make necessary
delivery.Notonlywilllessmoney be now available investments in health. Maybe we should seek solace in the fact that
the need for universal healthcare has been recognised even though
tobuild/improvegovernmenthospitals, government
much about the Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana—and the measly
doctorswillcontinuetorefertheir patients to private
allocation to build primary care centres under the Ayushman
hospitalsfora‘cut’.
Bharatplan—remainsuncertain
Indiashouldlearnfromdeveloping countries who
5
haveachieveduniversalhealthcare. Thailand is such an 107 `
example.TheThaihealthcaresystem is adapted from
LAKH
MILLION
theUKmodelbuttweakedtosuit their context. It is
Annual coverage
builtonastrongpublichealthsystem for primary and Families in 445
to be provided to
districts across 26
secondaryhealthcare.Morethan 75 per cent of hospi-
each beneficiary,
states identified as
talisationisingovernmentfacilities. Private hospitals including
recipients of the
reimbursements
areusedjudiciouslyforhigh-end tertiary care. Instead PMJAY scheme,
for hospital and
based on the 2011
ofinsurance,theyhaveinnovative public financing,
drug charges
Socio-Economic
whichisresponsivetotheneeds of different populations 2 days before
Caste Census.
andareas.TheThaigovernment spends 3 per cent of its Over 500 million and during
hospitalisation,
GDP on health; India, individuals
and 15 days after
expected to benefit
by comparison, spends
The PMJAY just over 1 per cent.
1,200
will damage The upgradation of `
2,000
`
public 150,000 Health Sub-
Centres and PHCs as
healthcare
CRORE
‘Health and Wellness CRORE
delivery. It
to build
Centres’ (HWCs) under
mimics the US 150,000 primary Allocated in 2018-19
Ayushman Bharat is an healthcare centres budget for PMJAY;
health system,
opportunity for better under Ayushman Rs 10,000 crore
which is costly Bharat, or just earmarked over
primary healthcare.
Rs 80,000 per centre the next 2 years
with poor But it needs more than
outcomes the measly Rs 1,200
14,935
crore budgeted within `
the limited National
Health Mission funds. It needs closer to Rs 2.5 lakh
Average cost of hospitalisation in rural India and Rs 24,436 in urban
crore at Rs 17 lakh per HWC. The Community Health
areas in 2014, says National Sample Survey Office
Centres and District Hospitals can be strengthened too.
Our approach to human resources for health needs to
60%
1,354
change: more local youth need to be trained as health-
care providers to serve in their districts. A few private
hospitals could be empanelled for limited high-end
Of PMJAY costs to be borne
Packages in PMJAY for some 20
services through referrals from district hospitals. by the Centre, 40% by states.
specialised surgeries, including
5 states and Union territories
The PMJAY mimics the US health system, which
coronary bypasses and knee
—Kerala, Punjab, Odisha,
is expensive with poor outcomes; the Thai model replacements, at rates 15-20%
Telangana, Delhi—opt out, saying
lower than under another
would have served India better. Far from being the their existing schemes
central government scheme
panacea for India’s healthcare ills, the PMJAY is likely are better
to exacerbate them and be an even bigger disaster
1% 1.6
than the previous health insurance schemes. ■
MILLION
Sulakshana Nandi is a public health researcher and
Of Rs 5 lakh annual allocation People die in India every year
National Co-convenor of the Jan Swasthya Abhiyan
spent by each recipient, say because of poor healthcare.
(People’s Health Movement India)
critics, would cost Rs 50,000 The worldwide total is 5
crore. While Rs 10,000 crore million, estimates a new study
translates to Rs 1,000 per published in the Lancet
family; or Rs 200 per person this month
16 (cid:3)INDIA TODAY OCTOBER 8, 2018
14.8
LAKH CRORE
Total business of the entity formed
by the merger of Bank of Baroda,
Vijaya Bank and Dena Bank
BANKING only sweep the muck under the car-
pet. Former RBI governor Raghuram
BIG MERGER,
Rajan said in September last year that
public sector bank mergers should be
SMALL GAINS done only after the balance sheets have
been cleaned up. “I would say restore
the banks to health, get an active board
composed of professionals. There has
F inanceministerArunJaitley banks.Althoughthe combined numbers been a steady attempt to professionalise
believes the merger of three look impressive, they do precious little banks and remove political hacks. Once
public sector banks—Bank of to improve the overall performance of we have done that, I think there will be
Baroda, Vijaya Bank and Dena Bank— these banks. “The banks will continue an ideal situation for merger,” he said.
will create a strong entity and boost the to be under government ownership and The All India Bank Employees’ As-
weakest among them (Dena Bank), but become channels to roll out government sociation has said there is no evidence
not everyone is convinced. According schemes. There will be no change in the that mergers strengthen banks or bring
to him, the government did not favour way they function,” says Madan Sabna- efficiency. Some argue that the merger
a merger of weak banks, and so came vis, chief economist with Care Ratings. will reduce the capital burden for the
up with the idea of merging two strong “In the end, what we have is a horizontal government over the long term and en-
banks with a weak one to create India’s summation of balance sheets. That is a able better management of a smaller set
third largest bank with a total business very short-term solution to addressing of large nationalised banks.
of Rs 14.82 lakh crore. the problems of state-owned banks.” With fewer such banks, capital
Dena Bank is one of the 11 public Although Dena Bank has a net NPA allocation, performance milestones
sector banks put under the Prompt ratio of over 11 per cent, the combined and monitoring will become easier.
Corrective Action (PCA) framework of net NPA ratio would be at 5.71 per cent, Krishnan Sitaraman, senior director,
the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). Banks making it look healthier. Crisil Ratings, says: “Such consolida-
are put under PCA when they breach There are no larger benefits of tion will engender economies of scale
key regulatory requirements relating synergies being discussed nor any clear and can structurally improve operating
to capital adequacy ratio (a measure of plans to cut costs highlighted. Instead, efficiencies and governance. It will also
a bank’s available capital expressed as the government has assured bank em- help the merged entity to participate in
a percentage of its credit exposures), ployees of no job cuts post-merger. The credit growth opportunities and defend
return on assets and non-performing merger comes at a time when public turf.” In the past five years, public sec-
assets (NPAs). Banks under PCA are sector banks are straddled with bad tor banks have ceded around 10 per
restricted from issuing fresh loans, loans to the tune of around Rs 9 lakh cent market share of banking assets to
expanding branches or recruiting crore as on March 2018. private banks, and could lose another
more staff. In April last year, five of the The Narendra Modi government 10 per cent over the next three years if
State Bank of India’s subsidiaries were has been advocating consolidation of capital constraints continue, adds Sita-
merged into the parent bank. the public sector banking space. While raman. Arresting this would be crucial,
The concern for some experts is experts have long mooted the concept of but the big question is whether such
that the present merger changes noth- fewer, larger banks, some have warned mergers alone will help. ■
ing—capital, net worth or assets of the that mergers for the sake of size will —M.G. Arun
Illustrations by TANMOY CHAKRABORTY OCTOBER 8, 2018 (cid:3)INDIA TODAY (cid:3)7