Speeches & Media Interactions

I. Introduction Distinguished industry leaders, colleagues and guests. 1. It is a privilege to be able to stand here and talk to such a learned gathering and I am thankful to Mint for inviting me. 2. Money, as we know it, has been a central pillar of human society for centuries, enabling trade, facilitating economic activity, and underpinning the very notion of trust in social and financial interactions. Over time, the form of money has evolved with technology - from commodities to metal to paper to balances in deposit accounts to now, digital tokens. While the forms of money have evolved with technology, the fundamental character of money - what it represents, or what gives it credibility – has always been that it represents value that has users’ trust. That value is either intrinsic (metal money) or derived from a promise to pay (paper money or deposit money) by a trusted person. Theoretically, money can be issued by any person as long as he has the trust of the users. The more stable forms of money in history have, however, always been issued by sovereigns, not by private issuers. Examples of private money (money issued by non-sovereigns) can be found in history but they have not been stable arrangements. In practice, therefore, money has credibility because its value is promised by the sovereign. 3. This fundamental character of money is under challenge from cryptocurrencies. Not in terms of technology, as money in the form of digital tokens can exist without changing the nature of money itself. But the fundamental challenge of cryptocurrencies is that they claim to change the very nature of money – because cryptocurrencies do not represent value either in terms of intrinsic worth or in terms of promise to pay. In my talk today, I propose to explore what the nature of such challenge is, and what are the implications of cryptocurrencies for the financial system as we know it. 4. To be able to understand the nature or character of money, we need to look a little deeper.

1. The legendary cricketer, the Very Very Special Laxman ji; Shri P D Singh, CEO of Standard Chartered Bank, India & South Asia, distinguished leaders from across the banking, financial and capital markets ecosystem, colleagues, ladies and gentlemen. 2. It is a pleasure to be with you this evening at “Success Through Synergy”. This annual event is an invaluable platform for thoughtful conversations on where our industry is headed. I am grateful for the opportunity to share a few reflections.

Shri Harsh Bhanwala and other distinguished  members on the Board of MFIN; CEO, MFIN, Dr. Alok Misra; Director, Bankers  Institute of Rural Development, Dr. Nirupam Mehrotra; esteemed  industry leaders, distinguished guests, awardees of the ASCEND programme, ladies,  and gentlemen. Good evening.

Good morning, Dr. Mahendra Dev, Chairman, EAC-PM, Dr. Saurabh Garg, Secretary, Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI), officers from MoSPI, fellow economists, and fellow policymakers. It is my privilege to be a part of this pre-release consultative workshop. I would like to recognise the leadership of Dr. Saurabh Garg in bringing credibility, ownership, and, may I say, excitement, to the process of base revision of the key macroeconomic data series of India. I would also like to acknowledge the invaluable contributions of the experts, academics, and officials, many of whom are present here today, in this exercise. The data and statistics are public goods. In helping create the revised series, you all are performing an important public service.

It gives me immense pleasure to participate in the FIBAC annual conference for this year. It brings together distinguished thought leaders and stakeholders of the Indian economy and our financial ecosystem to deliberate on critical and contemporary issues facing the economic landscape of our country. The topic of the Conference “Charting New Frontiers” is very relevant and topical as we respond to the new challenges of tariffs and geopolitical uncertainties. I am sure that the discussions in this conference will be very fruitful and provide deeper insights and guidance to all stakeholders, especially businesses, regulators and governments. This is all the more important as we strive to contribute in our journey for a Viksit Bharat by 2047. I compliment FICCI and IBA for organising this annual conference.

Participants of the ‘Management Development Programme on Financial Market Regulations’, Professors, ladies, and gentlemen. A very good morning to all of you! 2. At the outset, I would like to thank IIM, Kozhikode for inviting me here. It is a pleasure to address such a diverse gathering, ranging from policy veterans to important stakeholders across the financial landscape. The contents of programme span the issues around the regulatory framework of a diverse mix of entities operating in the financial markets including banks, securities firms, and insurance entities. 

The Karur Vysya Bank family - represented here by the Chairperson, the Directors on the Board, the shareholders, MD CEO, the staff, officials and the customers of the bank and their families, ladies and gentlemen, Anaivarukkum Vanakkam. Namaskaram. A warm good afternoon.

I am delighted to welcome you all to this ‘High-Level Policy Conference of Central Banks from the Global South’. This conference has been organised as part of the commemoration of the 90th year of the Reserve Bank of India since its establishment in 1935. Since then, the Reserve Bank has established itself as a credible public institution in India. This landmark event provides a unique forum to deliberate on current policy challenges from the vantage point of the Global South. This event is also a part of various conferences and seminars which we have organised this year. These include three international conferences, this being the third one.

I am happy to be here at the Global Leadership Summit which marks the 25th anniversary of CNBC TV18. I would like to congratulate Team CNBC TV18 for its successful journey over the years. It is indeed an honour for me to join this occasion to felicitate three distinguished former Governors of the Reserve Bank of India – Dr. C. Rangarajan, Dr. Bimal Jalan and Dr. Y.V Reddy.

I feel highly privileged to be here at this High Level Conference on ‘Central Banking at Crossroads’ and share some of my thoughts. When the definitive history of our times is written, the turn of the current decade will, in all probability, be regarded as a watershed in the evolution of central banking. In the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic and the persistent geopolitical strife thereafter, central banks are treading in the uncharted terrain of a twilight zone. Today, like never before in the five centuries of their existence, central banks are confronted with a future where their mandates, their functions and their performances are all up for unforgiving scrutiny.

I am happy to be back at the FIBAC annual conference. This conference is special as it brings together industry leaders, financial sector players and regulators on a single platform to discuss vital issues of contemporary relevance. I would like to congratulate the FICCI and the IBA for organising this annual conference.

I am very happy to participate in the 5th edition of the Global Fintech Fest (GFF). I would like to congratulate the organisers – NPCI, PCI and FCC1 – for bringing together diverse stakeholders from the FinTech ecosystem including FinTech innovators and companies, banks, NBFCs, regulators and others for this year’s GFF. This event has grown into a much awaited fixture in the calendar of not just the Fintech industry but also the broader technology ecosystem. 

We are celebrating the 90th year of the Reserve Bank of India in the current financial year. This Global Conference on ‘Digital Public Infrastructure and Emerging Technologies’ is among the marquee events that we are organising to commemorate this significant milestone. It is my pleasure to extend a warm welcome to each one of you to this conference, held in the beautiful and vibrant city of Bengaluru—a city which, for many years now, has been at the forefront of India’s technology revolution. I would also like to extend a special welcome to the esteemed participants who have joined us from across the globe. Thank you all for accepting our invitation. I sincerely hope that you will find the deliberations and interactions during the Global Conference enriching and productive. 

I am happy to be back at the Financial Express Modern BFSI Summit. I remember having participated in the June 2022 edition of this summit where I had spoken on ‘Disruptions & Opportunities in the Financial Sector’. The macroeconomic conditions back then were very different and challenging to say the least, as we were grappling with overlapping shocks from the war in Ukraine and the surge in inflation at a time when the world was still recovering from the Covid-19 pandemic. Since then, we have come a long way. Amidst global challenges and uncertainties, India stands out as a fast growing major economy with stronger macroeconomic fundamentals and a healthy and resilient financial sector.

I am delighted to be here to inaugurate the second edition of the global conference on financial resilience organised by the College of Supervisors (CoS) of the Reserve Bank of India. The first edition of the conference was held last year in April and I had participated in the same. Since its establishment in the year 2020, the CoS has made significant contributions to strengthen supervisory capacity of not just the Reserve Bank, but also the supervisors from a few other countries who have participated in the various programmes organised by the college. My compliments to the Team CoS for their dedication in successfully carrying forward the objectives of the organisation.

I am very happy to be here at this Conference on Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC), 2016 organised by the Centre for Advanced Financial Research and Learning (CAFRAL). I wish to congratulate CAFRAL for taking this initiative and thank them for inviting me to this event.