One State One RRB: RRB Amalgamation Roadmap Unveiled for West Bengal and Bihar

In preparation for the implementation of the Government of India’s One State One RRB policy, a detailed roadmap has been circulated to guide the amalgamation of Regional Rural Banks (RRBs) in West Bengal and Bihar. The document released by the Punjab National Bank, as sponsor bank, sets out 120 sequenced action points under 15 subsections with clear responsibilities, timelines, and thematic groupings, covering everything from staff issues, legal compliance to public communications.

Role of the Chairman

The Chairman's role is central to the transition of the new transferee banks. They are entrusted with ensuring institutional continuity, such as ratifying board decisions, recognising outgoing directors, and ensuring that unresolved agenda items are carried into the new governance framework.

Regulatory Realignment

To align the new entity with statutory and compliance frameworks, the roadmap outlines a set of regulatory tasks under points 26 to 30.

Image: Regulation details

The steps involved are as follows: 

• Apply for Head Office license from RBI with necessary board approvals by April 25, 2025.
• Request allotment of BSR Uniform Codes for offices and branches under the new entity’s name by April 25, 2025.
• Apply for new PAN, TAN, and GST numbers by April 21, 2025, to align taxation compliance.
• Consolidate the bank’s Daily Transaction Ledger (DTL) to ensure Statutory Liquidity Ratio (SLR) and Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR) compliance by May 1, 2025.
• Issue of branch licenses to be coordinated with RBI for name and location updates.

Products Standardisation

Under the section ‘Integrating Products/Services and their Pricing’, the roadmap outlines measures to ensure a consistent and transparent customer experience across all branches.

Image: Steps involved in integrating products

This involves five crucial steps for products and services.

• Bring uniformity in deposit and loan products, to be ratified by the board on April 28, 2025.
• Issue a press notification on May 1, 2025, to seek customer support and announce harmonised offerings.
• Display revised product pricing and features prominently in all branches starting May 1, 2025.
• Place orders for new stationery reflecting the unified product suite by April 28, 2025.
• Implement revised interest rates on deposits and advances from May 1, 2025, after ALCO (Asset Liability Committee) approval.

Digital Integration

One of the most critical dimensions of the RRB amalgamation process is the seamless unification of digital infrastructure. The roadmap outlines a series of precise IT actions to ensure operational readiness, data continuity, and customer service stability post-transition.

• Register a new official email ID for the bank by April 30, 2025 to enable domain-wide correspondence and identity uniformity.
• Standardise and unify banking software across all branches by September 30, 2025, to eliminate fragmentation in operations.
• Consolidate computer platforms and infrastructure by the same deadline for back-end harmony and system resilience.
• Launch a new website under the merged identity by May 1, 2025, providing updated information, branding, and customer support access.
• Vendor engagement—including software and hardware providers—must be finalised by April 15, 2025, to avoid disruption during system shifts.
• IT Programs: While existing systems will continue temporarily, migration to a unified platform will commence with the issuance of new IFSC, UPI, RTGS, IMPS, and mobile banking credentials. Coordination with the Head Office IT Division is mandated.
• Training for end-users will be streamlined since the merged entity is already operating on Finacle.
• Network infrastructure upgrades are expected in alignment with the upcoming Finacle 10 migration—though no separate action is currently required due to pre-existing compliance.

Staff Confidence

The roadmap acknowledges the professional uncertainty that can accompany structural shifts of this scale through the following steps:

• Chairman must address all staff by April 25, 2025, urging cooperation, assuring job security, and highlighting career progression opportunities.
• Senior officials are tasked to interact with employees of amalgamated RRBs on April 28, 2025.
• New challenges and staff concerns are to be identified and resolved on an ongoing basis.

Staff Transition

A crucial section of the roadmap outlines concrete staff transition measures to harmonise employee status and entitlements across legacy institutions.

Image: Staff related steps to be implemented

Steps involved in addressing staff issues are as follows:

• All staff to be issued new personal IDs by April 30, 2025.
• Transfer service records to the new Head Office by May 15, 2025.
• Fixation of inter-se seniority also scheduled by May 15, 2025.
• Uniformity in pay, perks, and allowances will be enforced, based on DFS/NABARD guidelines.
• Provident and gratuity funds will continue, with any actuarial gaps to be addressed.
• A centralised salary system and common PAR mechanism are to be implemented by June 30, 2025.
• Disciplinary cases will carry over, to be reviewed by the new Disciplinary Authority.
• Authorization powers for TA, leave, and medical claims to be delegated clearly.
• Trade unions will be recognised based on their updated amalgamated structure.
• Conciliation proceedings, if any, will be reviewed and carried forward.

Customer-Facing Communication

To ensure clarity for rural customers, the roadmap mandates a communication plan via press notification.

Other Issues

The final segment of the roadmap includes merging CRR and HO accounts, reconciling inter-branch transactions, drafting a new MoU, and aligning borrowing, advances, and guarantees with updated post-amalgamating norms.

The roadmap for RRBs in West Bengal and Bihar reflects a transformative reform on a large scale. With this framework now in motion, other states are also expected to adopt similar roadmaps, potentially setting a uniform template for RRB transitions across the country.