On Friday, employees of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) staged protests at various offices, including the central bank's headquarters in Mumbai, against a new promotion policy that ties promotions to vacancies instead of the previous time-bound system. The Reserve Bank of India Officers’ Association (RBIOA) expressed their concerns in a letter to RBI Governor Sanjay Malhotra, urging a comprehensive review of the policy to ensure fair career progression for officers. According to RBIOA General Secretary Jeet Pathak, the revised policy fails to address long-standing issues of stagnation within the officer cadre. Under the new guidelines established on May 5, promotions from Grade B to C will remain time-bound, requiring a minimum of seven years, while advancements from Grade C to D and higher will depend on available vacancies. This change has raised alarms among employees, who fear that it could lead to prolonged stagnation, with some officers potentially remaining at the same grade for up to 15 years. For example, while there were about 40 vacancies at Grade D this year, the incoming batch of Grade C officers consists of 150-200 candidates, leading to concerns that it could take five years for them to advance to Grade D. The RBI has stated that it will address employees' concerns, although the official spokesperson did not respond to inquiries regarding the protests.