The Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh releasing the Volume IV of "History of the RBI", in New Delhi on August 17, 2013. It goes without saying that the history of the
Reserve Bank is the history of the growth of our country
since independence. The Reserve Bank has done the
country proud – the role which it has played in shaping
the monetary policy, in shaping the credit policy, and,
if I remember correctly, in also influencing, particularly,
the supply of credit to rural areas.
The Reserve Bank has served our country with
great distinction. But I venture to think that the best
is yet to come.
Dr. Subbarao has touched upon various facets of
policy-making, and I dare say, Dr. Raghuram Rajan will build on the experience of his predecessors to
chart out a new course of action in very difficult
circumstances that our economy is facing. We can
never be satisfied with the status quo. When I became
the Governor, I had no great knowledge of what
monetary policy is about, and therefore, I asked the
late Prof. Chakravarty to head a committee to look at
the functioning, the goals, the means and measures
of monetary policy, and that report was pretty
influential for a period of time. And I would venture
to think that the time has come, when we should
revisit some of those areas – the possibilities and
limitations of monetary policy in a globalised
economy, in a fiscally constrained economy – I think
that is one subject. But macro-economic policy- making, targets and instruments, I think, is another
area, where I feel fresh thinking is called for, and I
sincerely hope that the Governors of the future,
particularly Dr. Raghuram Rajan, will attempt to
revisit some of these difficult areas.
And thank you all, at least among professional
people, a degree of national consensus, which we
need, if we have to carry out social and economic
change in a country as large, as diverse, as complex
as India is.
As I said, the Reserve Bank has served our country
with great distinction. But as I ventured to think, the
best is yet to come.
With these words, I wish Dr. Subbarao the best.
He has served the Reserve Bank and our country with
great devotion. And I extend a hearty welcome to his
successor, Dr. Raghuram Rajan. In him, we have a very
distinguished economist of international fame. I
sincerely hope that the Reserve Bank of India will see
a more glorious period under his Governorship.
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