Reserve Bank of India lost 46 employees to Covid, related complications

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Monday said it lost 46 employees to Covid and related complications.

The central bank mentioned about the deaths in the compendium on business continuity measures taken during the coronavirus pandemic.

According to RBI, it introduced a Special Ex-gratia Package and a Special Scheme of Compassionate Appointment for dependents of employees dying in harness due to Covid or due to post-Covid complications happening within six months of last such infection since March 1, 2020.

"As on December 31, 2022, dependents of 46 deceased employees were paid the ex-gratia amount and dependents of 32 deceased employees accepted compassionate appointment in addition to the ex-gratia package," it said.

Under the scheme, ex-gratia was extended to the dependents of regular full time/ part-time employees.

In addition, the offer of compassionate appointment was also extended to either the spouse or any one eligible dependent child of full-time regular employees on fulfilment of stipulated age and eligibility criteria.

To tackle the challenges posed by the pandemic, RBI mobilised at an unprecedented scale and speed to put in place a cross-functional response to safeguard lives and livelihood of the people as well as insulate the economy and the financial sector.

These measures were taken to ensure uninterrupted conduct of its crucial functions and maintaining business continuity; supporting its employees, service providers and other stakeholders.

"More than one hundred measures, both conventional and unconventional, were undertaken during the period. The effort was to be proactive and innovative, while remaining on guard to preserve financial stability," it said.

In the foreword to the compendium, RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das said Business Continuity Management (BCM) has hitherto meant protecting organisations against events like natural calamities, geo-political disturbances, cyber attacks and other disruptions that have the potential of interrupting smooth functioning of an organisation.

"An unknown virus, i.e., coronavirus, of the size of 0.125 microns, unleashed a once in a century pandemic and completely redefined our understanding of BCM," he said.

Das said through the troubled times, RBI had to continually assess and revalidate its readiness for uninterrupted operations, leverage varied data feeds for continuous monitoring, consider consequences and impacts of its measures, and design and implement rapid but coordinated responses across verticals.

"We also proactively communicated through public statements and in other forms of guidance, reassuring the public at large about the stability and resilience of the financial system while supporting banks and financial institutions and the economy as a whole.

"Our basic message was: RBI is tirelessly at work to shield the Indian economy from the pandemic," he said.

The compendium said one of the major challenges faced included, ensuring sufficient printing of currency, timely supply of currency and ensuring availability of currency at the last point while bearing in mind the safety of treasure and human resources involved.

"Execution of (these) activities involved considerable coordination with the multiple stakeholders in the network," it said.

To deal with the challenges posed by the pandemic, RBI took slew of measures, including those related to monetary policy, liquidity management, and regulation.

"While the pandemic threatened to cause never-before disruptions across the business landscape, recognising its people as pivots, RBI chose to assign primacy to employee empathy so that the workforce well-being is not compromised and the employees remain safe and motivated," it said.