complex financial systems. they are already testing their business continuity plans ( bcp ) and creating awareness among their staff. several committees / task forces have been set up to look into issues like business, legal, human resources, payment system, currency management, communications, health / hygiene and security. several large global financial institutions also have advanced preparations, as do providers of payment services, mainly by establishing alternative sites, and recovery task forces. they have a senior crisis management team in place to plan for the contingency. in fact, the imf has rightly emphasized that financial institutions must have bcps that do not focus only on a single, short - lived event ( imf, 2006 ). in fact, i would say that actions at country level may not be sufficient and regional and global coordination, therefore, will remain essential as well. coordination efforts already made by various regions and regional organisations of the world, as well as the support provided by the un system are praiseworthy. during the crisis itself, authorities will have a number of potential roles to play. one major job for authorities is acting as a focal point for communication in a variety of areas like ( i ) receiving information from market participants on the extent of disruption and on the business continuity measures taken that may affect other participants, ( ii ) acting as a point of liaison between financial markets and the wider government emergency response, and perhaps also with utilities and telecommunications providers, ( iii ) providing information to the market and to the public on the functioning of markets and systems ( both financial and non - financial ). cross - border communication, in fact, becomes even more important than before because of the global nature of the event. because of this central role, it would be better if communication methods are robust enough to take care of potential disruption to staffing and physical infrastructure and are equipped with multiple communication channels available. if there are disruptions to trading and communications infrastructure, ad hoc solutions may be needed in order to allow smooth process of necessary transactions and maintaining critical operations. in this context, i would like to cite some instances in our country where the central bank, other regulatory authorities and government have jointly handled the contingencies successfully. for instance, there was the beginning of a panic run on a bank in 2003 led by a baseless rumour at one particular place of the country. the reserve bank immediately clarified that the bank had sufficient liquidity and arranged to provide adequate cash to that bank to meet the demands of its customers and helped that

providing products suitable for such markets along with appropriate delivery channels. another aspect to look at banking services in india and technology deployment is that while developing products, services, channels and strategies, focus was mostly on providing better and efficient services to the existing class / classes of customers, since the existing set of services was in itself way behind the requirements / expectations. many industry participants perceived that their operations were customer - centric, simply because they had customers. however, to their credit, when the banking sector was opened up, they adapted very quickly to the new rules of the game. but, the rules of the game are changing as the banking industry is undergoing a rapid transformation phase. unlike in the past, banks today are market driven and market responsive. the top concern for every bank is to increase or at least retain the market share. this makes it imperative that banks provide best possible products and services to ensure customer satisfaction. with the customers getting increasingly tech savvy, irrespective of the age profile, banks have greater challenges to ensure customer satisfaction. with the advent of advanced technologies there is significant scope to utilise the information / data base gathered through the tech enabled service bouquet. i intend to revisit some of these issues in more detail later. part ii initiatives taken by idrbt i must congratulate idrbt for its continuing contribution towards indian banks ’ journey “ beyond core banking ”. it has been organizing seminars in association with banks on this theme and this is the fifth in the series. what is commendable is the enthusiasm and zeal with which this institution has been discharging its role and responsibilities in times where technology is changing quickly, constantly evolving and transforming the way business ought to be done. next steps – seize the opportunity extensive use of technology is bringing about upgrades in general banking environment for all stakeholders. in this context, banks may look at opportunities to introduce technologies that balance the three cs in their operations, namely, cost, control and customer service. cbs implementation has ostensibly addressed all the 3 cs. but has it? i often wonder why should a customer be charged extra if his passbook is updated at a so - called “ non - home ” branch. does cbs add on to cost for the bank in this regard? has cbs really provided better control? i am told that for certain types of transactions, it is very difficult to trace the full etymological details. if this be so, then whither effective controls? what is