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Why downplay a rich legacy?

A subdued start to SBI's bi-centenary celebrations

NOT MANY present day institutions can claim an ancestry stretching as far back as 200 years. Fewer still would be the institutions whose predecessors had towered over others in their respective sectors so comprehensively. The State Bank of India is one of those that score on both counts.

The Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh, who inaugurated the year-long bicentenary celebrations of the SBI in Mumbai recently spoke on financial sector reform (the reform agenda's bright spot), the need for giving more autonomy to public sector banks and other current issues.

The Finance Minister was more specific to the requirements of the SBI. The Government would review existing policies and procedures to enable the bank to grow in size and augment its capital, he said. The speeches of the Prime Minister and the Finance Minister might have been relevant to an audience reportedly made up largely of bankers and representatives from the corporate sector but what do they do, even remotely, to capture the extraordinarily rich history of India's premier financial institution?

Low key event

Probably the most lacklustre bicentennial celebration ever has got under way. For some perplexing reasons neither the bank nor the Government has chosen to leverage on the strong traditions of the SBI group and more significantly those of its predecessors, the Imperial Bank of India and the three Presidency Banks of Bengal, Bombay and Madras. It is true that there have been a few advertisements .An exhibition presumably capturing the nostalgia about a bygone era has opened in Mumbai and will move to other metros in the coming months.

There are no indications that the bank will attempt to derive any commercial or educational value from such a rich legacy. An advertisement campaign could be highly educative. There would be many who are interested in the financial and social history of the past 200 years. The bank's predecessors straddled a very important period of colonial history.

Besides, by projecting the past, the present generation of employees, shareholders and everyone connected with the organisation would not only be made aware but be inculcated with a sense of pride. That would be a considerable achievement from the point of view of motivating the staff. At present, all government owned banks — SBI included — come across as being impersonal in their dealings with their employees.

Ironically, the SBI has been one institution that has expended considerable time, effort and money in documenting its history. A history project under the stewardship of the eminent economic historian, Dr. Amiya Kumar Bagchi, and assisted by a number of bank officers has been under way since 1976. Altogether three volumes have been published so far. The first two volumes covering the days of the Presidency Banks up to the formation of the Imperial Bank (1921) have been extremely well received. A third and final volume was compiled in-house. It would be appropriate if the SBI arranges to make these accessible to many more by bringing out commemoration paperback editions and arranges for publishing excerpts with broad reader appeal in Indian languages as well.

Perhaps there is still time for the bank to celebrate its past. The Bank of Calcutta, the precursor to the earliest Presidency Bank (of Bengal), came into being on June 2, 1806. So in a sense it may be slightly premature to start the celebrations this year. But whatever be the reason, the general apathy towards the task of highlighting its own glorious history is symptomatic of the larger malaise that seems to afflict the SBI and other public sector banks (and indeed most government owned companies).

The Prime Minister's prescription for an overhaul of their organisational structures may well be the ultimate remedy. With increased autonomy, banks will be free to publicise their strengths without the fear of being hauled up by the Government and other external agencies.

C. R. L. NARASIMHAN

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