Speeches & Media Interactions

1. The ‘Class of 2018’ and their parents, guests and students, Lord Meghnad Desai, Chairman of the Meghnad Desai Academy of Economics, and the academic fraternity of the Academy, I am deeply honoured to be invited to the convocation ceremony. It reminds me fondly of my graduation ceremony three decades back.

2. Although his enormous standing and body of work is well known, let me say a few words about Lord Meghnad Desai, the Academy’s Chairman, Professor Emeritus at the London School of Economics, a renowned academic and a prominent global public figure. His contributions to the field of economics and education, and particularly his commitment to teaching at the London School of Economics, are the stuff of legend. He has also been an enlightened institution builder, a shining example of which is the Centre for the Study of Global Governance that he established in 1992. Lord Desai has written extensively, covering international political economy, Marxian economics, monetary economics, economic history and globalisation (as an aside, Lord Desai’s book ‘Testing Monetarism’ was required reading for macro courses in the United Kingdom in the 1980s). He has also worked extensively on issues relating to the Indian polity and has also been a sagacious influence in the political life of the UK. In recognition of thes

Shri B. Mahapatra, Chairman, NPCI, Shri Dilip Asbe, MD, NPCI, distinguished guests, fellow bankers, captains of the industry and the Honourable members of the Jury – it gives me great pleasure to be amidst you all as NPCI today recognises the significant work done by the innovators in payment systems of the country. Let me begin with a quote by Robin Sharma, the motivational speaker, who says ‘Small daily improvements over time lead to stunning results’. No one can di

At 2.30 pm on October 4, 2017 the resolution of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) was released on the website of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and history was made in a small way. Exactly a year ago, a page was turned on a tradition that went back to the origins of the RBI in pre-independent India. The monetary policy decision, hitherto made solely by the Governor of the RBI, was ceded to a six-member committee comprising the Governor as the Chairperson, the Deput

It is indeed a pleasure to be here this morning. Let me welcome our guests of honour from the seven other SAARC countries; especially Mr. Arjun Mahendran in his capacity as the present SAARCFINANCE Chair as also Mr. Fazle Kabir, the Bangladesh Bank Governor and Mr. Dasho Penjore, Governor Royal Monetary Authority of Bhutan who will be attending the SAARCFINANCE event for the first time. I welcome our distinguished guests, including our invitees from the IMF and the BI

Shri M.V.Nair, Chairman, CIBIL; Ms. Arundhati Bhattacharya, Chairman, SBI; Shri T.M. Bhasin, Chairman, IBA; Shri Arun Thukral, Managing Director, CIBIL; delegates to the Conference; ladies and gentlemen! It is a pleasure for me to be present here this morning to deliver the keynote address at the Seventh Annual CIBIL TransUnion Credit Information Conference. Background 2. Consequent to the recommendations of the ‘Working Group to explore the possibilities of setting u

I am indeed indebted to the organizers, Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, National University of Singapore for providing me this opportunity to share my thoughts on an issue, which has the potential to alter the global financial landscape in the years to come. 2. Global financial crisis and its aftermath have renewed the debates pertaining to functioning of international monetary system (IMS) and the need for multi-currency system. Is there a viable alternative fo

I am pleased to visit Lalpur Karauta village today and meet the people here. 2. I have come here from the Reserve Bank of India, Mumbai. The Reserve Bank also has an office in Lucknow and my colleagues from there have also accompanied me today. On this occasion, along with Bank of India and other banks, your member of parliament Shri P.L.Punia and senior officers of the Uttar Pradesh state government are also present. 3. You must be thi

Mr. Hiroyuki Obata, Deputy Governor, DICJ, Japan, Mr. Carlos Isoard, Secretary General, IADI, Switzerland, Mr. Jerzy Pruski, President, BGF, Poland, Mr. Fred S. Carns, Director, FDIC, USA, Mr. G. Gopalakrishna, Executive Director, RBI, distinguished delegates, ladies and gentlemen. At the outset, on behalf of RBI, I extend a hearty welcome to all of you to India and especially to this fascinating state of Rajasthan. We thank IADI for agreeing to hold this conference j

1. Mr. Abdul Qadeer Fitrat, Governor, Central Bank of Afghanistan, Mr. Arun Maira, Member, Planning Commission, Mr. R. Gopalan, Secretary, Department of Financial Services, Mrs. Kiran Dhingra, Secretary, Ministry of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation, Mr. Kamran Shehzad, Deputy Governor, State Bank of Pakistan, Mr. S. Sridhar, Chairman and Managing Director, National Housing Bank, Mr. Paolo Martelli, Director, South Asia, International Finance Corporation, Mr. R.V.

Respected Professor Govinda Rao and distinguished scholars, I am honoured by my friend, Prof. Govinda Rao’s, kind invitation to me to visit the National Institute of Public Finance and Policy (NIPFP). I had the opportunity of working very closely with the NIPFP on several occasions. Apart from my personal affinity to the NIPFP, there is a close relationship between the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and the NIPFP, from an institutional point of view also. For instance, P

Ladies and Gentlemen, I am truly honoured to deliver the Fedbank Hormis Memorial Foundation commemorative lecture. The illustrious list of the previous years’ speakers indicates the kind of significance this commemorative lecture has acquired over the years. The late Shri K.P.Hormis, founder of Federal Bank, was a visionary and left behind an institutional set up in the form of Federal Bank which has been doing yeoman service for well over seventy five years. The Fedb

Let me at the outset thank the Chairman and other Executives of the National Co-operative Agricultural & Rural Development Banks’ Federation Ltd. for having invited me here today. The Federation has played a very important role in providing the members a forum for joint consultations and inputs for policy formulation since its inception in 1960. It has also been instrumental in facilitating a series of initiatives for beefing up the co-operative structure by bring

I am grateful to Dr. Kapila Vatsayayan and Shri N.N. Vohra for inviting me to deliver the Dr. C.D.Deshmukh Memorial Lecture today. This annual Lecture in memory of one of India’s most distinguished thinkers and policy makers is a highly prestigious occasion, and one of the highlights of the India International Centre (IIC) calendar of events. When I was first asked, I must confess that I was reluctant as I was not sure whether matters which dominate my professional li

Mr. Chairman and friends, At the outset I wish to compliment the Asian Development Bank Institute and others who are sponsoring this policy Conference. The Conference is rightly addressing the policy issues as well as practical skills involved in examining and improving the pension systems in South Asian countries. The approach of enabling of sharing of experiences and views among South Asian countries and, with multilateral institutions is commendable. My comments to

Bimal Jalan Governor, Reserve Bank of IndiaGovernor Jayawardena and friends, It is a great honour for me to deliver the 49th Anniversary Lecture of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka. I am thankful to Governor Jayawardena for this invitation. I have had the privilege of knowing Governor Jayawardena personally over a long period of time, and have been an admirer of his immense knowledge and wisdom in the conduct of macro-economic and monetary policies. Under his stewardship

Hyderabad, known also as a Bagya Nagar, is well known for housing some of the premier institutions of this country, of which Administrative Staff College of India occupies a pride of place. The city has become a trendsetter in the emerging thrust area of Indian economic resurgence, namely Information Technology. It has provided congenial functional environment for many of global IT Giants, in the process earning the name of Cyberabad. It is just the other day, precise