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Introduction
"A career in the Reserve Bank of India is challenging as this is a
supreme banking institution. It gives one the opportunity to
participate in shaping the monetary policy of the country. One gets a good
exposure to the banking and financial sector", says
Sushma Vij, Asst. Manager Reserve Bank of India, Lucknow.
The Indian banking structure has at the apex
the Reserve Bank of India entrusted with the responsibility for the formulation and
implementation of the monetary policies of the country, regulating the
financial sector, issuing and managing currency, issue
and management of debts and managing the foreign exchange position of the
country.
The Reserve Bank derives its power from the
Reserve Bank of India Act of 1953 and the Banking Regulation Act, 1949. It
performs the same functions as the Central banks do all over the world. But,
what is unique to the Reserve Bank of India is
that it has taken on a developmental function too. Under this, it is
responsible for institutionalising the vast savings in the
country through developmental organisations set up for the purpose like the
IDBI, IFCI, DI&CGC, SIDBI and so on. In addition,
the RBI oversees that agricultural development is not stifled for want of
credit and has, for the purpose, set up NABARD.
Work
Profile
The RBI approves and issues licenses for opening offices of any bank. Through
its monetary policy, the RBI issues
instructions to the banks regarding maintenance of cash reserves and
statutory liquidity reserves of the banks against their
deposits and acts as a lender of last resort to those banks. RBI conducts
inter-bank clearing transactions through the national
clearing cells and maintains currency chests with banks at their various
offices to ensure availability of adequate currency in
all remote corners of the country, gets periodical detailed information from
each Bank about its business and inspects those
banks and their business.
As an instrument of the government's policy
measures, the Reserve Bank of India monitors the total amount of money supply
in the economy, issues credit control directions to banks from time to time
in keeping with the needs of the day, ensures
adequate flow of credit into desired sectors like agriculture, small scale
industries, small business, low-income groups, etc.
As a banker to the government, the Reserve
Bank of India maintains accounts of the Central Government and State
Governments. It also acts as a lender to these governments by buying the
treasury bills issued by them to raise money. It
allows the governments ways and means advances and overdrafts in their
accounts.
The Reserve Bank is an adviser to the
government on monetary and fiscal policies and also on general economic issues.
For exchange management the RBI is responsible
for maintaining the external value of the rupee. It holds all foreign exchange
reserves of the country, it buys and sells foreign currency from and to
authorised dealers. Career Opportunities as Officer in
the Reserve Bank of India.
The main entry points for a career in the RBI
are for the posts of :
Staff Officer Grade "B".
Eligibility Criteria For Staff
Officer Grade "B"
1. A Bachelor's Degree
with 60% marks in aggregate or equivalent grade ;
OR
2. A Master's Degree with
55% marks in aggregate or equivalent grade ;
OR
3. A Doctorate degree
with 50% marks in Master's degree or equivalent grade ;
OR
4. Chartered / Cost
Accountant with a Bachelor's degree;
OR
5. A Post-graduate
diploma in Management from a Management Institute of repute like IIM,
Ahmedabad, Bangalore or
Calcutta, with a Bachelor's degree.The age limit is between 21 to 26 years if
you apply on the basis of a Bachelor's degree
and between 21 to 28 years if you apply following a Master's degree.
Selection
Process
The selection is on the basis of a written examination followed by an
interview of those who qualify. The written examination is
conducted in two phases. The First Phase consists of an objective type test
to assess your general awareness, reasoning
ability, quantitative aptitude and proficiency in English. The paper is of
three hours duration and carries 200 marks.
Those candidates who are successful in the
objective type test have to appear for the Second Phase, which comprises two
papers namely :
English - essay, precis writing,
comprehension, business / office correspondence.
The aim of the paper is to test your
ability to read and understand serious discursive prose and to express your ideas clearly
and correctly in English.
Economic and Social Problems
This paper covers : Economic
Problems Facing India i.e. issues relating to population, poverty, inflation,
unemployment,
agriculture and rural development, industrial relations, the trade union
movement and urbanisation as well as current efforts to
solve them.
International problems - current world
economic problems, relations between the developed and developing economies,
international finance and trade.
Social problems facing India - structure
of Indian society, institutions of Caste, Joint family and Nuclear family, problems of
minorities and tribals, education and human resource development.
Both the papers of English and Economics
and Social problems are of three hours duration each and carry 100 marks each.
You have to qualify in each of the papers
separately. The merit is decided by the Reserve Bank Services Board.
Service Conditions and Career Prospects
The pay scale is Rs.4825-325-10350 (18 years). Depending on the place of
posting, the total initial monthly emoluments vary
between Rs.7,000-7,500 at present.
The posts also carry benefits of provident
fund, pension, gratuity, leave fare concession (with the facility to encash leave) and
medical facilities, fuel reimbursements and book grants facilities etc.
At most of the centres, residential quarters
are available. However, the facility for securing residential accommodation on lease
exists at all centres. There are reasonable prospects for promotion to higher
grades.
Officers rise from Grade "A" to
Grade "F" and can also become part of the top management, namely, Executive
Director and
Deputy Governor.
General officers are posted to the three major
departments in the bank namely :
Issue and Banking Department: which manages
the circulation of notes and coins, acts as the banker's bank and banker to
the government, manages public debts, issues bonds and so on.
Exchange Control Department (ECD): which
handles the foreign exchange reserves of the country, formulates policies and
acts as an authority over foreign exchange transactions in the country.
Department of Banking Operations and
Developments (DBOD)/Department of Supervision(DOS): which looks after the general
functioning of the finance sector namely, Banks, Financial institutions,
Financial companies.
Besides these departments officers in the
general stream are also exposed to other departments like the Rural Planning and
Credit Department (RPCD), Industrial Export Credit Department (IECD),
Department of External Investment and Operations
(DEIO), Department of Financial Companies (DFC), Department of Information
Technology (DIT), National Clearing Cell (NCC)
etc.
Other Professional Openings In RBI
The other professional openings in the Reserve Bank of India are:
Research Officers in Grade "B" in
the Department of Economic Analysis and Policy (DEAP). The job of Research Officers in
the DEAP involves research activities and participating in policy
formulation. The eligibility criteria are a master's degree in
Economics or Econometrics or Commerce with a minimum of 55% marks and age
between 21 and 28 years. The selection is
on the basis of an objective-type paper also of three hours duration carrying
100 marks. Both these papers are held on the
same day. The syllabus is similar to the master's degree course of any
Central University in India. Research Officers in Grade
"B" in the Department of Statistical Analysis and Computer Services
(DESACS). The work involves undertaking the collection,
compilation, analysis and interpretation of data from various sources;
statistical analysis involving modern statistical /
econometric models, empirical testing of data etc; conceptual and
methodological studies on various types of statistics
relating to money and banking, savings and investments, national income etc.,
designing and organising of large - scale
sample surveys; systems analysis and computer programme development and
processing on the bank's computer system.
The eligibility criteria are a Master's degree in Statistics or Mathematical
Economics or Econometrics with 55% marks or a
master's degree in maths with 55% marks and Computer knowledge. However,
preference is given to candidates with a
doctorate degree or those who have research or teaching experience. The age
limit is 21 to 28 years. The selection is on the
basis of a written examination held on the same day comprising an
objective-type and a descriptive-type paper both of two
hours duration each and carrying 100 marks each. The syllabus includes
Mathematics, Statistics and Mathematical
economics of post-graduate standard of any Central University of India.
Legal Officers In Grade "B" In Legal
Department
The job involves dealing with references on
legal issues and legal problems, documentation, preparing initial drafts of
legalisation administered by the bank, preparation of comprehensive
instructions and briefs to counsel in connection with
litigations involving the bank and appealing before conciliation officers,
labour courts etc. to represent the bank.
The eligibility criteria are a Bachelor's
degree in Law with a minimum of 50% marks and 5 to 7 years of practising experience.
Post-graduates in Law are given preference. You are at an advantage if you
have at least three years experience as an
advocate or as a Law officer in the Legal Department of a large banking or
financial institution or as a Lawyer in an advocate's
or a solicitor's office. Special knowledge of Banking and Company laws,
Labour laws, Constitutional Law and experience in
documentation is useful.
The age limit should not
exceed 32 years.
For this post you are selected on the basis of
a descriptive type written examination of three hours duration carrying 100
marks. The paper assesses you general knowledge of law with emphasis on
Commercial Law, Banking Laws and
Jurisprudence as well as your ability to apply legal principles to deal with
problems in finance and banking.
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