Chennai: Apex industry body ASSOCHAM has urged the state-owned bank unions to drop the day-long strike, which began earlier in the day, as it may impact banking transactions worth up to Rs 1.3 lakh crore including forex and paper clearing. “The All India bank strike called under the banner of United Forum of Bank Unions (UFBU) might also impact deployment of gross bank credit worth up to Rs 1,600 crore,” ASSOCHAM Secretasry General D S Rawat said.
“The Union Government should work towards driving reforms in India’s public sector banking industry to reign in the huge amount of non-performing assets (NPAs) in the banking system resulting in lower levels of credit off-take,” Mr Rawat said. Banking operations such as cheque clearances, cash withdrawals (over-the-counter) and deposits at public sector bank (PSB) branches across the country might be affected as about ten lakh employees struck work, he said in a statement here today. (UNI)