Union Bank's Top Brass Accused of Impropriety

Union Bank's controversial book purchase exposed bureaucratic misuse.

- ABHINANDAN MISHRA

The entrenched influence of bureaucracy, or "babudom," within India's system ensured that the multiple checks and balances designed to uphold propriety in Indian banks were undermined last year. Union Bank of India, one of the country's largest public sector banks, spent Rs 7.25 crore to purchase a book authored by K.V. Subramanian, the then Executive Director for India at the International Monetary Fund. Subramanian was dismissed from his position on April 30 of this year.

In August 2022, Subramanian was appointed the Executive Director for India at the International Monetary Fund, for a period of three years. At that time, he was also teaching finance as a professor at the Indian School of Business. His termination came six months before his three-year term was set to conclude, following orders from the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. This move signaled that the government's top office would not tolerate impropriety, regardless of the influence wielded by the individual in question.