The Reserve Bank of India Governor D Subbarao in his defence of the policy to hike rates in order to combat inflation said on Friday that the central bank is “also sensitive to the ‘voices of the poor’ about the burden of surging prices”. “The voices of the poor do not of course have the same opportunity of collective articulation, and we therefore have to make the extra effort to listen to this ‘silent constituency’,” he said while addressing the National Convention on Leadership at CII-Suresh Neotia Centre of Excellence for Leadership in Kolkata. In order to combat inflation, the Reserve Bank has had to gradually and continuously tighten monetary policy, he said. “This has led to criticism, especially from industry and business sections, that higher interest rates engendered by our policy have curtailed growth. This grievance is legitimate, and to some extent, understandable. The Reserve Bank is sensitive to that criticism,” Subbarao said.
IE
