pace of external financial liberalisation. it is essential to take into account the risks associated with it while resetting an accelerated pace of a gradualist approach. the recent experience in many countries shows that periods of impressive macroeconomic performance generate pressures for speedier financial liberalisation since everyone appears to be a gainer from further liberalisation, but the costs of instability that may be generated in the process are borne by the country, the government and the poorer sections. avoiding crises is ultimately a national responsibility. the approach to managing the external sector, the choice of instruments and the timing and sequencing of policies are matters of informed judgment, given the imponderables. as noted earlier, not only do global developments influence india, but the growing size of india has also implications for the global economy which would have also to take in to account the evolving demographic dynamics in countries such as india. over the next halfcentury, the population of the world will age faster than during the past half - century as fertility rates decline and life expectancy rises. in europe, the demographic profile is already tilted towards the higher age group and by 2050, this is projected to accelerate. projections suggest a turning point between 2010 and 2030 when the european union, north america and japan will experience a substantial decline in savings rates relative to investment which may be reflected in large current account deficits. most of the high performers of east asia and china are in the second stage of the demographic cycle. elderly dependency is expected to double in these countries by 2025. their working age populations will increase modestly first and then shrink. these projections suggest that east asia could increasingly become an important supplier of global savings up to 2025 ; however, rapid population ageing thereafter would reinforce rather than mitigate the inexorable decline of global savings. india is entering the second stage of demographic cycle and over the next half - century, a significant increase in both savings rate and share of working age population is expected. the share of the labour force in population in india is expected to overtake the rest of asia, including china, by 2030. looking ahead, the rest of the world may increasingly rely on 7 / 9 china and india for supplies of both labour and capital and this could significantly influence the evolution of the global economy. it is evident that china and india will have to give high priority to generating employment and both are poised for substantial increases in productivity. the global economy will have to contend with the implications of these developments on prices

the point about customer ’ s perception about how he / she is being treated by a bank. is the bank being fair to him / her in matters of interest rates, penalties, service charges and that he / she has not to fear any hidden costs and charges at a later date. further, the customer also draws comfort from the fact that he or she is not being discriminated against vis - a - vis a new customer. we only advocate that customers be treated fairly. everyone would like to have cheaper services. however, the minimum we can offer is fairness, speed and delivery. and this is entirely in banks interest. 9. appropriateness of the “ sell ” is an important aspect that cannot be lost sight of. customization, tailoring the products to suit individual needs and always ensuring that a customer ’ s individuality is respected are necessary ingredients of the bank marketing strategies. we have to give what the customer wants and not merely sell what we have! while doing this exercise, aspects such as pricing, product features, service quality standards, grievances redressal mechanism, etc need to be properly documented, disclosed and explained to the customer in simple understandable terms. the broad principles of fair treatment of customers would, therefore, have certain basic tenets like transparency, nondiscriminatory pricing, full and proper disclosure about product / service quality standards, risks to which a customer could be exposed, ability to exit if the product / service is not what the customer wanted and a host of such other issues. 10. now, let me revert to the role of technology in customer service. it is no one ’ s case that banks have not embraced technology. in fact, most public sector banks in india in the last decade have gone through a phase of technology up - gradation and have migrated to core banking solution ( cbs ) platform. adoption of technology has changed the face of the banking sector which is manifest in the various transformational developments of the recent past. the benefits of technology are, however, not commensurate with the developments. the speed, cost, convenience and efficiency of banking services have not improved by factors that technology enables one to achieve. a part of the problem is that banks are yet trying out fledgling delivery models rather than putting in place a cost - effective, decentralized and realistic delivery model. fixing a problem / glitch when it happens thus becomes the weakest link in providing efficient customer service. 11. a large