Getting down straight to business, RBI Governor Urjit Patel told the Public Accounts Committee of Parliament here on Thursday that the central bank will not interfere in the independence of banks and said the regulator’s effort is not to create a unitary system for public banks.

Patel appeared before the panel to brief about the public debt management, based on a Comptroller & Auditor General of India report, and the RBI’s role in it. Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs was also present during the interaction.

Responding to queries from PAC members that why there is no uniform rate of interest even in public sector banks, Patel, according to a member in the panel, said: “Each bank has its own pluses and minuses. Each bank has a different lending and investment pattern.”

“He said the RBI will not interfere in this right for uniqueness for each bank,” a member told BusinessLine .

Another member said Patel sounded more like a “practical” person.

“Unlike his predecessor Raghuram Rajan who was full of ideas to rejuvenate the banking system, Patel sounded very practical. We wished him best in his new assignment,” another member added.

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