While experts expect fewer job openings, the hiring of clerks is likely to be most affected
The Centre's recent plan to merge 10 state-run banks into four entities may hinder fresh hiring, reports Business Line.
On August 30, in a surprise move, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced the merger of 10 public sector banks (PSBs) -- Punjab National Bank, Canara Bank, the Union Bank of India, Indian Bank, the United Bank of India, Allahabad Bank, Syndicate Bank, Corporation Bank, the Oriental Bank of Commerce and Andhra Bank -- under four entities.
The banking sector has been seeing reduced recruitment over the years and the government's move may impact engineering graduates the most as majority of applicants are from that stream.
In FY17, State Bank of India (SBI) recruited 13,097 fresh candidates against 11,264 retirements. This trickled down to 3,211 against 18,973 retirements in FY18. Total number of bank employees decreased to 2,57,252 as of March 31 from 2,64,041 last fiscal.
"The Finance Minister says there will no job loss due to the merger. But the real issue for us is the creation of new jobs, which will be hit," said a concerned engineer preparing for the bank exams.
Banks that have been a major recruiter over the years, as per Institute of Banking Personnel Selection (IBPS).
"Reduction in fresh recruitment will be a natural consequence of any merger as rationalisation of branches and staff will have to be worked out to optimise resources," the article quotes a senior PNB official as saying.
While experts expect fewer job openings, the hiring of clerks is likely to be most affected, the report stated. These posts have seen a steady decline to 7,275 in 2018 from 19,243 in 2016, IBPS data shows.Get access to India's fastest growing financial subscriptions service Moneycontrol Pro for as little as Rs 599 for first year. Use the code "GETPRO". Moneycontrol Pro offers you all the information you need for wealth creation including actionable investment ideas, independent research and insights & analysis For more information, check out the Moneycontrol website or mobile app.
