'Will address concerns on RRBs recruitment rules'

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Thursday said that she would address the problems faced by regional language speaking states candidates while taking Regional Rural Bank examinations after the Institute of Banking Personnel Selection (IBPS) modified its recruitment rules in 2014.

Replying to questions during the Question Hour in Rajya Sabha, she said she has received several representations from MPs regarding this problem.

"I will try to address the problems and will reply to the house soon on the issue," she said.

G C Chandrashekhar (Congress) said that in 2014, after the BJP-led NDA Government came to power at the Centre, it had changed the Regional Rural Bank (RRB) recruitment rules.

Since then IBPS, which conducts the recruitment for the RRBs, has stopped conducting the examinations in regional languages. This has led a lot of regional language speaking aspirants, including Kannadigas, of being deprived from getting jobs in their own state, he said. The outsiders have been grabbing these opportunities, he added.

Since RRBs functioned in small towns and villages, banking staff should know the local language to deal with customers, Chandrashekhar added.

He also demanded that the minister bring back the old recruitment format, so that regional language speaking candidates also get job opportunities.