New Delhi Mar 29 PTI Banking services were impacted partially for the second day on Tuesday as a section of bank employees came in support of the nationwide strike called by central trade unionsTransactions at many public sector banks were impacted as employees did not report for duty Besides there were delays in cheque clearances and government treasury operations were also affected due to the strikeAs per our reports in the Southern Grid functioning in Chennai during our strike yesterday and today about 6 lakh chequesinstruments worth about Rs 5000 crore could not be sent for clearance as branches did not function due to the strike All India Bank Employees Association AIBEA general secretary CH Venkatachalam saidAt the national level about 20 lakh cheques worth about Rs 18000 crore could not be cleared he claimedBank unions are protesting against the governments move to privatise two public sector banks as announced in the Budget for 2021-22 They are also demanding an increase in the interest rate on deposits and a reduction in service chargesBesides AIBEA the Bank Employees Federation of India BEFI and All India Bank Officers Association AIBOA are also part of the two-day strike call given by the joint forum of central trade unions and various sectoral independent trade unions to protest against governments alleged anti-people economic policies and anti-worker labour policiesAll Indian Trade Union Congress AITUC Centre of Indian Trade Unions CITU and Indian National Trade Union Congress INTUC among others are demanding the scrapping of the proposed changes in labour laws and privatisation in any formIncreased allocation of wages under MNREGA Mahatma Gandhi Rural Employment Guarantee Act and regularisation of contract workers are also part of their demandsMost of the banks including the State Bank of India SBI had informed their customers about the proposed strike and its likely impact on the services in advance PTI DP BAL

New Delhi Aug 31 PTI Indias macroeconomic fundamentals are much stronger and the country is all set for robust growth on the back of structural reforms the governments capex push and rapid vaccination Chief Economic Adviser KV Subramanian said on TuesdayBriefing media on the growth number he said the GDP data for the first quarter reaffirms the governments prediction of an imminent V-shaped recovery made last yearIndias economic growth surged to 201 per cent in the April-June quarter of this fiscal helped by a low base in the year-ago period amid a devastating second wave of the COVID-19The gross domestic product GDP had contracted by 244 per cent in the corresponding April-June quarter of 2020-21 according to data released by the National Statistical Office NSO on TuesdaySubramanian said the growth during the current fiscal would be higher than the pre-pandemic level and the GDP growth should be in line with the projection made in the latest Economic SurveyDespite the second wave of COVID-19 he expressed hope that the economic growth during the current financial year would be around 11 per centThe Economic Survey 2020-21 released in January this year had projected GDP growth of 11 per cent during the current financial year ending March 2022The survey had said growth will be supported by a supply-side push from reforms and easing of regulations push for infrastructural investments boost to manufacturing sector through the production-linked incentive PLI schemes recovery of pent-up demand increase in discretionary consumption after the rollout of vaccines and pick up in credit given adequate liquidity and low-interest ratesThe CEA further said India is poised for stronger growth on the back of structural reforms capex push by the government clean up in the financial sector and rapid inoculation that will help revive the contact-intensive service sectorsThe banking sector has now developed a cushion to withstand impending bad loans he said adding the net profits of public sector banks PSBs increased to Rs 31816 crore in 2020-21On the inflation he said it has witnessed a moderation in July compared to the previous monthOur expectation is that the inflation in the next few months should be within that range between 5-6 per cent but less than 6 per cent despite hardening global commodity prices he saidVery calibrated monetary policy measures and the supply-side measures that have been taken by the government would keep the inflation in that range he added He expressed hope that the household consumption should pick up as the inoculation drive is proceeding at a faster pace As the fear of pandemic recedes he said the consumption should gather momentum as was witnessed during the previous fiscal PTI DP BAL