“The matter has now been escalated to the finance ministry for final sign off,” multiple senior executives of banks aware of the development were quoted as saying by BL.
Until 2015, however, the banks were operational six days a week, including all Saturdays.
The BL report also cited a banker as saying that now 80 per cent of the transactions take place digitally, and bank branches are working more as customer redressal centres. “Except for taking some sign-offs on certain agreements which would require the signature of customers, there isn’t much need to walk into branches these days,” they said.
It also added a source as saying that based on the informal talks, a nod from the finance ministry is expected soon as “the government may not have an issue in accepting this request from the bankers’ union”.
After the finance ministry’s nod, the proposal will be taken to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) for approval.
First Published: Aug 07 2023 | 11:07 AM IST