When there are good postings available, the people who choose who is to come to that particular position, they will always have, at the back of their minds, a fear that, 'If I take a woman, she might prioritize her family over the job and, therefore, not be available at times when her presence is required.'
If you go to any boardroom... the women are, by far, outnumbered by the men.
One thing I would tell women is that they must take up the challenge. Very often, we anticipate a lot of problems, and therefore, we don't take the lead. And I think that we are shortchanging ourselves if we don't do that.
Your ability will get you the job, but you also need to have age on your side. So if you started your career at 21, you have an advantage over others in your batch who started at, say, 24.
Why should a country have to take on itself a huge burden of managing a totally cash economy?
We underestimate our people. Given a challenge, most of our people will do it, especially the youngsters who take to technology like duck to water.
It's good to be on the power list, but I don't see a practical use of it except when people introduce me to audiences.
The capping of cash transactions will help the banks reduce cash intensity.
If a woman is financially independent, she can definitely make a bigger contribution in making big decisions and contribute much more. If a woman is financially independent, she can pursue her interests, too.
I say what is required to be said.
I have met a lot of women who are good at math.
Demonetisation is a disinflationary process. So, this will bring down prices in the long run. It will also help in bringing down interest rates.
At the end of the day, none of us are the Oracle of Delphi, so we don't get everything right. It's always good to be able to listen and to take on what seems to be the right thing to do.
Most of the time, women believe that what lies ahead is a precipice. Whereas, if you continue to drive and stay on the path, the road will open up in front of you, and you will reach your destination. You don't need to turn around and abandon the journey.
In India, the investment banking industry is a little different. Overseas, the structures are very complicated, but not in India.
Senior officials are always looking for good juniors, so when the opportunity comes, they give you the responsibilities.
When borrowers anticipate that politicians might cancel their loans, they stop paying.
If you look at the international markets, for projects that are capital-intensive, the minute the construction phase is completed and production is supposed to start, normally all these loans get refinanced.
I do believe in teamwork, and I think it's very important, especially for a woman, because if you don't have a good team, then you cannot step out if you need to.
I always focus on team building - both in office and at home.
A maturing process, and growth, is always painful. You ask any teenager, they will tell you, and it's just like that for the country. We need to grow; we need to evolve.
Whatever I have said is in the interest of the system, and it has never been taken amiss.
To tell you the truth, if you're looking at rising pretty high, then you need to find a way of taking care of these problems and not taking time off. At the end of the day, it is a very tough competition. And in a very tough competition, if you just take breaks, then it's going to become much, much more difficult.
Even for the people in the bank into which the other banks are merging, they also have a lot of apprehension. There is always an apprehension that opportunities will go down. There are apprehensions of displacement. Many of these apprehensions are unfounded.
We have been partners in nation-building and take our role in building the nation very proudly.
We are present in all areas, and our products are the best.
Lending rate is a function of both liquidity as well as credit demand.
When it comes down to business, everybody is very businesslike... I have never felt any difficulty in dealing with any of these situations.
In order to ensure long-term investment, it is important to make infrastructure as transparent and as bankable as possible - should be a win-win for all.
We keep saying, 'No more 'band aid' solutions.'
I am not going to opt for a short-term view for a 206-year-old institution like the SBI.
I have never worried if my daughter has fallen sick, and I am somewhere else, because there is always somebody to take care of her.
If we want to be the banker to every Indian as we want to be, then we will have to use technology.
It is only after you are able to stand on your own feet, or have the confidence that you can stand on your own feet, should you look at doing things such as marriage or setting up a family.
One of the big lessons I have learnt from my life is that things are never as difficult as they seem. When you actively plunge into it, you realize you can easily do it.
Every industry, as it comes to a certain level of maturity, there is consolidation. In that consolidation, some fall, but the men will always be there. It is the boys that get sloughed, I would say.
Banning cash transactions over R3 lakh will allow banks to diversify their banking activities into new areas and not mundane ones.
Theoretically, every probationary officer has a chance to become chairman.
ATM is still a cash channel; we want to migrate it to the digital channel.
What needs to be done is that the digital initiatives that we had started, that those get the same kind of focus, and that we now disincentivize the use of cash. If you're going to slide back into the ways that we had before this demonetization impact, then you really won't get the benefits.
As demand goes down, you will see prices come down.
Cash imposes a huge burden. We don't understand it, as it is not immediately visible. It is a huge burden on society.
Because SBI is so large, serving customers in India's big cities and small rural villages alike, it has a pressing need for better tools and technology to monitor lending risks.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi turned the narrative around on demonetisation very quickly by promoting the move as one way of ending systemic corruption in the country.
The decision to incentivise savings for pension funds augurs well for infrastructure financing and retirement planning.
If you have six corporate centres, six treasuries, six of everything, and then if you bring it down to one of everything, obviously there are some savings.
There is potential for more Chinese investment in India's infrastructure, and there are already Chinese investors in India's power and telecoms sector as well as the banking and payments space.
Until you get your reputation made, you have to work twice as hard... there is always a doubt in your superior's mind as to whether you will put family before your job.
People are used to cash, and getting them out of that is going to be a long and tough exercise.
