Bold economist

Instances of radicalism wherein people insist on thinking for themselves and reject party-mindedness are rare to come by. Perhaps that is the way with Duvvuri Subbarao, as he steadfastly debunked government’s theory leaving interest rates and cash reserve requirements unchanged citing inflationary pressures despite economic growth slumping to a near decade low. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI), which is as hushed inside as an Egyptian sphinx, is a place for establishment reserve. The office occupied by Subbarao, a soft-spoken, affable, sixty-two-year-old economist, has high ceilings, several wood-panelled shelves of economic textbooks, overlooking the Mumbai harbour. Its echoing hallways are lined with sombre pictures of past governors............ 

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The difficulty of being Duvvuri Subbarao

Decisions can often turn out to be of two kinds - the right one;and the one your boss wants you to make. The twain do not always meet. Duvvuri Subbarao, the Governor of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), earlier this week, showed us what a right decision is.................

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Pare down growth expectations

The RBI has an unenviable task. Due to policy paralysis, the central bank has been forced to go beyond its mandate. But its attempts to shore up the economy have also made it obvious that the high-inflation-and-lower-growth cycle cannot be cured merely by monetary tools..........

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Who other than the Mahatma can adorn our rupee notes and why?

..........With anti-counterfeiting rather than bestowing national honours as its aim, the RBI priorities for which faces to choose might be slightly different. And several years back K.D.Savkur, then the head of the Currency Department, explained them for me - they wanted faces that were of details that would be hard to copy, and that ideally meant faces with plenty of hair. The department had gone so far as to shortlist national leaders with full beards, like Rabindranath Tagore and Maulana Azad, who would fit their aims. Mother Teresa, with no beard but a heavily lined face, might have been another. Unfortunately for the currency department it only makes recommendations on currency designs, and the final choice is made in a series of opaque consultations between the RBI and ministry of finance.........

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All well in RBI, confirms drill

 On Friday evening the personnel at the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) office at Jaipur were startled when they were informed about an incident of fire in the building.  The employees hurriedly vacated the building and were met by the fire department's vehicles and personnel at RBI premises.  Later they realised that it was all a mock drill and the personnel went back to working......

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The central bank surprises again.

.........The RBI was far less accommodative in its policy statement than what was expected. The central bank’s less accommodative stance would clearly be sentiment-negative at the moment and would impart greater uncertainty regarding its future action. That said, I do think that the RBI will likely turn pro growth in the coming months. Growth indicators have thrown much larger surprises compared with the inflation indices. Industrial activity is clearly weak and headwinds to growth still exist............

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ATM fraud: Complex web of four organised gangs

.......Had Federal Bank of India adhered to the revised RBI guidelines issued in March, it would have saved itself the loss of crores of rupees. In March RBI had issued guidelines to private banks to do away with the feature of retrieving currency notes by their ATM machines if the customer does not collect the amount within 30 seconds. While a majority of private banks removed this feature from their ATM machines, Federal Bank of India did not introduce the same. “The miscreants knew this fact clearly. As per the guidelines if the uppermost note is not collected after withdrawal within 30 seconds, the machine retrieves the note and flashes a message of failed transaction,” said Mohali SSP (Cyber Crime Investigation) Pradeep Kumar. As per the revised guidelines, RBI had advised the removal of the feature of ATM machines retrieving notes after 30 seconds.........

Read - Express India

JK Bank organises KCC mela

........“Following RBI and Government of India’s gesture of extending interest subvention clause to J&K Bank, we have devised a campaign to ensure every farmer in the service areas allotted to J&K Bank receives KCC as early as possible”, ...........

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Why the rupee is marching to its own gloomy beat

.....The Reserve Bank’s quiet easing is similar to giving a diabetic sugar-free lunch and then sneaking a cup of shrikhand for desert. The only thing that determines the price of any asset is demand and supply. The increasing supply of money did contribute to the INR’s latest fall. The Reserve Bank did leave interest rates untouched to send a signal that the value of the rupee is as strong as it was before the policy was announced. But the markets disagreed: “How can you increase the supply of an asset and keep the price of it at the same level?”......

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Political impasse creates lack of confidence

.....Do you think that the Reserve Bank of India has gone on a prolonged ‘monetary tightening mode', hurting the growth in the process?

I believe that the RBI is acting prudently, and without being influenced by the political process. However, the balance of payments and fiscal deficit have forced the RBI to play its role which, I think, they are doing well.....

Read - The Hindu

Down! Down! Down!

.....RBI governor D Subbarao, was perhaps acutely conscious of the cold realities when he presented the monetary policy hours before US-credit rating agency Fitch came out with its scathing report on the Indian economy last week. He withstood mounting pressure from local businesses to cut interest rates. These firms had been arguing that the steep cost of raising loans had upset their capacity-expansion plans........

Down! Down! Down! - Hindustan Times

Steps for improving economy to be out on Monday: Pranab

Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Saturday said that the government would announce certain measures in consultation with the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Monday to improve the country’s economy that was showing signs of weakness. Talking to reporters here, Mukherjee said that on Friday the Department of Economic Affairs had consulted with RBI Governor D Subbarao on the measures to be taken in this connection........

Read - Indian Express

Govt, Reserve Bank of India to take steps to stem rupee fall: FinMin Mukherjee

.....“I have asked the Secretary (R Gopalan), Department of Economic Affairs, to discuss the rupee situation with the RBI Deputy Governor (Subir Gokarn). The DEA Secretary (R Gopalan) will take steps to contain rupee slide,”.........

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Revival of 6 industrial units hangs fire

.....He said even the Reserve Bank India (RBI), Bihar region, had endorsed the SLAB-approved rehabilitation package for the six SIIs which were considered to be viable for rehabilitation on the basis of their diagnostic study.........

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