Bank of India Relaxes Mandatory Rural Posting Norms for Promotion to Scale III

Bank of India has relaxed the mandatory rural posting requirement for officers seeking promotion to Scale III. The decision follows representations from affected officers and the Bank of India Officers’ Association, after the previous condition left a large number of Scale II officers ineligible to apply for the upcoming promotion exercise.

Concerns Over Officer Exclusion

Before the relaxation, many Scale II officers faced exclusion from the Scale III promotion process solely because they had not completed the mandatory rural service.

Taking up the matter with management, the BOI Officers’ Association questioned whose fault it was if officers lacked rural service. The association asserted that if the bank failed to post them to rural areas, employees should not be made to bear the brunt.

The officers pointed out that under Regulation 47, they are liable to be posted anywhere at the bank’s discretion. They highlighted that the shortfall was beyond their control, noting that several officers who had submitted written requests for rural postings were turned down by zones citing administrative exigencies.

Transfer Policy and Association Demands

The association further cited Para 11 of the Transfer & Rotation Policy (Branch Circular dated 04.01.2025), which placed a mandatory duty on the bank to ensure officers would “invariably be posted” to rural or semi-urban areas—a directive that zonal administrations had failed to execute.

Alongside the request to modify the promotion eligibility rules, the association urged management to ensure strict compliance with Para 11 going forward. It also requested that the bank provide officers with an annual written notice regarding their rural exposure status and sought an early meeting with leadership ahead of the official promotion notification.