Dear Member,
My warm greetings to you and your family members.
I hope that all of you are safe and healthy.
Let me now have the pleasure of informing you about the recent initiatives taken
/which will be taken by the Institute.
Remote Proctoring Exams
The Institute has taken an initiative of introducing Remote Proctored Examinations.
As a pilot, three of its certificate courses (AML/KYC, MSME and Prevention of Cyber
Crimes & Fraud Management) have been taken up. Remote proctoring exams allow
flexibility to candidates of appearing for the exams from the comfort of their homes
while simultaneously enhancing the knowledge base. Remote proctoring will be done
in combination with AI driven auto-proctoring and physical remote proctoring processes
to ensure quality standards. Based on the experience gained, remote proctoring will
be introduced for other examinations offered by the Institute. The salient features
of this mode of exam are as under:
- Examination shall be conducted on second and fourth Saturdays and Sundays.
- Pass percentage for each of the certificate examinations will be 60%.
- Examinations for the three subjects will not be held at physical centres.
- There will be no change in the examination fee.
- Fresh registrations can be done for the July examinations. Registrations have started
from 9th June 2020.
For detailed instructions, exam schedule, rules and regulations, please click on
the following link.
http://www.iibf.org.in/documents/pdf/Rules%20and%20regulation%20of%20RP%20exam_20200525.pdf
Updation of the JAIIB /DB&F courseware
The Institute has updated its books covering the JAIIB/DB & F examinations and
these updated books will be available in the market shortly.
Professional Conversion Route for JAIIB holders --Agreement with Chartered Banker
Institute
The Chartered Banker Institute (CBI) has accredited the JAIIB qualification awarded
by IIBF and has developed a Professional Conversion Route for JAIIB holders. Under
this, the JAIIB holders, by completing CBI’s reflective Ethics assignment
can attain the Associate Chartered Banker qualification.
The JAIIB holders who wish to enrol for the JAIIB Professional Conversion Route
to Associate Chartered Banker will have to register on IIBF’s website by paying
a nominal amount of Rs. 1000/= to IIBF. Candidates will have to upload their JAIIB
certificate on IIBF’s website. IIBF will verify the completion of JAIIB for
ensuring eligibility for the Professional Conversion Route.
The fees required to be paid by candidates to the Chartered Banker Institute will
be 195 GBP.
The details of the Professional Conversion Route will be placed on IIBF’s
website shortly.
Advanced Management Program (AMP – 2020-2021) – Hybrid Mode
The Advanced Management Programme (AMP) is a flagship course of the Institute. So
far, the AMP was offered in Mumbai through the physical classroom mode. Considering
the rapid digitisation of the education sector, the Institute has taken an initiative
of designing the AMP during 2020-2021, in the Hybrid mode, which is a combination
of virtual classroom sessions and Immersion Programmes at IIBF, Mumbai and IIM,
Calcutta. This will enable candidates from all over the country to enrol for the
Advanced Management Programme. The brochure for the AMP 2020-2021 is ready and has
been placed on the website of the Institute.
Change in training methodology (level 2) for candidates of the blended courses
on Certified Banking Compliance Professional and Certified Bank Trainer
Considering the constraints in mobility of the persons, especially due to COVID-19,
it has been decided by the Institute to amend the rules as under: -
(a) The new methodology, inter-alia, will consist of Virtual Classroom Learning
for 3 days.
(b) Evaluation Process of Virtual Classroom Training and Criteria for Evaluation:
Candidates who have successfully passed the online examination have to undergo Virtual
Classroom Training. For this purpose, the candidate, on passing the examination
should log on to IIBF website and select his/her convenient slot for virtual classroom
training (3 days) from the pre-determined dates. During the virtual classroom training,
candidates will be assessed (Internal assessment) for training performance for a
total of 50 marks. Marks for training will be awarded to candidates by faculty for
their training participation and performance in test based on MCQs. For details,
please visit the website of the Institute.
Activities handled and initiatives taken by the Institute during lockdowns
The initiatives taken by the Institute during the lockdowns are as under:
- The Institute has moved to a cloud environment. This has helped the Institute to
handle critical activities even during lockdowns.
- More than 15,000 digital certificates have been issued during the lockdown period.
- During April 2020, on-line learning initiatives were announced. These include:
- Video lectures covering JAIIB/CAIIB,
- E-learning on Credit Management free of charge for a period of three months,
- Knowledge Sessions on current banking topics free of charge.
I am happy to share that the above initiatives have elicited a good response from
participants.
Other initiatives taken / important developments during the financial year 2019-20
Inauguration of premises at Kolkata, meeting of Heads of HR & Training of
banks and 36th PTM Lecture
The Institute has acquired its own premises at Kolkata and New Delhi. The new office
at Kolkata, besides having state-of-the-art facilities, also has a studio where
classes through the virtual mode could be conducted for the different programmes
of the Institute.
On 1st February 2020, the Institute conducted
the following three events at Kolkata.
- Inauguration of its new premises
- Meet of HR & Training Heads of banks
- 36th Sir Purshotamdas Thakurdas Memorial Lecture
The new premise was inaugurated by Mr. Rajnish Kumar, Chairman, SBI and President,
IIBF.
The meet of HR & Training Heads of banks saw a good participation from banks.
The 36th Sir Purshotamdas Thakurdas Memorial
Lecture was delivered by Hon’ble Justice Shri S J Mukhopadhaya, Chairperson,
National Company Law Appellate Tribunal on the topic “Insolvency and Bankruptcy
Code, 2016 and its impact on the Economy.” The Lecture was attended by a large
and appreciative audience.
Case Study Writing Competition
Case study, as a pedagogical tool, has gained prominence. In order to have a good
repository of case studies, the Institute had taken an initiative of organising
a case study writing competition for the bankers. As per the guidelines drawn up,
a Case accompanied by a Teaching Note were to be developed on a theme related to
Indian Banking. The suggested themes were segregated on the basis of specialization
into Scheme I (Specialized Areas) and Scheme II (General Areas). Attractive
prizes were also announced.
This initiative of the Institute was appreciated by the banking fraternity which
was evident from the overwhelming response received. The Institute received a total
of 61 case studies accompanied by Teaching Notes.
The case studies received were evaluated by a Committee on the basis of the laid
down parameters and the winners were announced.
Revision in Syllabus for the Business Correspondent (BC) Certification –
Scheduled Commercial Banks
RBI, vide their letter dated 3rd October 2018, had identified IIBF as
the sole certifying authority for the BCs of the Scheduled Commercial Banks (SCBs)
as well as for the Payments Banks. Different models for certifying the BCs
were drawn up by the Institute in consultation with RBI. Separate courseware for
the BCs of SCBs and Payments Banks were published.
For ensuring seamless certification of the BCs, the Institute has published the
courseware into 11 languages and the examination is also held in 11 languages. In
order to help the BCs to understand the subject better, video lectures, in Hindi
and English, covering the courseware have been recorded and have been placed on
the YouTube channel of the Institute.
Capacity Building of Officers – Notification by RBI
IIBF is the only Institute which has been offering all the five courses identified
by RBI under the capacity building programme of banks. More than 20,000 candidates
had enrolled for these courses during 2019-2020.
Inclusion of Ethics in Banking under JAIIB
As ethical principles need to be followed by all the staff in an organisation, it
was felt imperative by the Institute that knowledge on certain fundamental aspects
of “Ethics in Banking” is disseminated to a larger population
of bankers at different levels. In this connection, the JAIIB examination offered
by the Institute is taken by a large number of candidates. It was therefore decided
that apart from a separate certificate course on “Ethics in Banking”,
certain units from the courseware on the subject will be made part of the first
paper of JAIIB namely “Principles and Practices of Banking.” The examination
on this subject held in May 2019 had some questions on “Ethics in Banking”.
The courseware for the subject “Principles and Practices of Banking.”
has been accordingly modified and made available in the market.
“TASK” - new periodical
A new periodical by name “TASK (Training
for Attitude, Skill and Knowledge)” was started from Training Department wherein,
the news items on training programmes are informed to the bankers. This publication
is in e-form only. The idea is to make this e-magazine more attractive and
informative in the months to come. So far 5 issues, have been published.
10th R K Talwar Memorial Lecture
The 10th Shri R. K Talwar Memorial Lecture was organised by
the Institute on 22nd November, 2019 and was delivered by Mr. Sanjeev
Sanyal, Principal Economic Advisor, Government of India and Co-chair of G20’s
Framework Working Group, Ministry of Finance, Government of India. The topic for
the Lecture was “Beyond Risk: Policy making for an Uncertain World”.
Many senior bankers and other dignitaries from various fields attended the Lecture.
Launching of New Certificate / Diploma Courses
In order to keep pace with the ever-changing banking landscape, the Institute introduces
new courses for improving the skill base of the banking fraternity. Some of the
new certificate courses which are on the anvil are:
- Resolution of Stressed Assets of Banks with special emphasis on the Insolvency &
Bankruptcy Code
- Emerging Technologies
- Strategic Management & Innovations in Banking
Scheme for Research Fellowship in “Banking Technology”
The Institute had taken an initiative to announce a “Research Fellowship
in Banking Technology” in collaboration with IDRBT. The research fellowship
carries an award of Rs. 5 lakh and will be fully funded by IIBF.
Research proposals were invited in the following thrust areas:
- Cyber Security
- Analytics
- Mobile Banking
- Emerging Technologies
- Payment Systems
The scheme which was open from 15th October 2019 to 14th January
2020 has received an excellent response. The researchers whose proposals are shortlisted
will be called for a presentation before the evaluation committee set up for this
purpose. The date will be announced as soon as possible.
Call for Micro / Macro Research Proposals
The Institute invited micro and macro research proposals for the year 2019-20. Here
again, the response has been quite good. The proposals are being examined and further
details will be communicated to all concerned as soon as possible.
Bank Quest
The Institute publishes a quarterly journal called “Bank Quest”.
The themes for the next coming issues of “Bank Quest” are identified
as under:
- “Strategic Technology Trends in Banks” – Sub – themes: Traditional
lending to Digital flow based lending, Fintech landscape in India, Cyber Security,
Big Data Analytics, Customer Experience: April – June, 2020
- “NBFCs, Systemic Risk and interconnectedness amongst Financial Institutions”:
July-September 2020.
Bank Quest included in UGC CARE List of Journals
IIBF’s Quarterly Journal, Bank Quest has been included in the Group B of UGC
CARE list of Journals. The University Grants Commission (UGC) had established a
“Cell for Journals Analysis” at the Centre for Publication Ethics (CPE),
Savitribai Phule Pune University (SPPU) to create and maintain the UGC-CARE (UGC
- Consortium for Academic and Research Ethics). As per UGC’s notice, research
publications only from journals indexed in UGC CARE list should be used for all
academic purposes.
Self-paced E-learning courses
With rapid progress in technology and advancement in learning systems, E-learning
has been embraced by the masses, a formalised teaching system with the help of electronic
resources. E-learning has been developed by the Institute for some of its subjects
and is made available to the candidates registering for the examinations, as an
additional pedagogical tool. To further diversify its portfolio of offerings, the
Institute has developed a new mode of certification called the Self-paced e-learning
cum certification courses. Two courses namely “Ethics in Banking” and
“Digital Banking” have been introduced.
IT Initiatives
All the activities undertaken by the Institute are in on-line mode. While continuing
to take further initiatives in this regard, the Institute has implemented issuing
Digitally Signed Certificates for all the examinations to replace the paper based
manual certificates. This is a part of one of the green initiatives of the
Institute.
Green Initiative
As part of green initiative, the Institute has discontinued sending hard copies
of its monthly publication “IIBF Vision” with effect from October-2015
to its members. In case, you have not registered your e-mail id with the Institute,
I request you to do so to enable the Institute to send copies of IIBF Vision by
e-mail to you in future. You can also download issues of “IIBF Vision”
and “Bank Quest” from the Institute’s website.
We, at the Institute are thankful to all of you for your continued support. I am
also sure your unstinted cooperation will continue in the years to come.
I welcome suggestions and guidance from the members on various academic and training
activities of the Institute.
Dr. J. N. Misra
18th June 2020.
