Post liberalization of the 1990s, banking in India was transformed
from class banking to mass banking. What followed were a number of private
banks setting shop in India. Today, there are 28 nationalized banks, 29 foreign
banks, and 24 private banks in India. Together, they account for 53,000
branches across India.
Banks as a career option in India has always been a sought after among
people. A banking job is a white collar job, which, compared to other
fields, has less stressful hours of working. What also tips the balance in
favor of the field is the pay package, which has increased manifold over the
years.
If you are a qualified graduate from a good institute, you could start
off with a package of anywhere between INR 20,000 and INR 30,000 per month in a
good bank. And if you keep working hard, sky is the limit for you.
Just like every other field, there are different departments in
the banking sector too. Broadly speaking, there are two levels in the banking
sector- clerical level and officer level. Clerical level work involves handling
front office tasks, checking coins and notes etc.
Officer level work involves dealing with customers, handling their
portfolios and other similar tasks.
Private banks also hire trainees from good educational
institutions. As a trainee, you can understand the working of a bank, before
you are qualified enough to be given a full time job portfolio.
Scope of a banking career in India is immense. With coming of new
banks, competition in the field has increased. Banks are offering higher pay
packages in order to retain and attract talent. In other words, if you are
good, you could land up a plum package in no time at all.
However, the growth and promotion scenario differs according to the bank you
are in. Public sector banks usually do not have a merit policy. You get promoted in
a public sector bank only after you have served certain number of years at a
position.
With private sector banks, however, promotions are largely on a merit basis. If you can deliver results consistently and add
to the bottom line of an organization, you could quickly reach the managerial
level in no time.