India and the Global Financial Crisis: Managing Money and Finance
“... if America had a central bank chief like Y. V. Reddy, the US economy would not have been in such a mess.”
Joseph Stiglitz, to NDTV, December 22, 2008
Indian economy has had a unique experience in the past decade, especially since around 2003. Growth has been higher than ever before and the economy has become much more closely linked with the global economy. However, the ongoing global financial crisis seems to have turned the circle, at least in half measure. With the growth paradigm now being questioned, it is important to reflect on how policy challenges were addressed in recent years and what we can learn from them. The Indian experience remains unique in the midst of the global turbulence. The economy has certainly been affected and has slowed down but its balance of payments reserves are relatively healthy. What contributes to this unusual and satisfactory situation? Key to the decision making process is the Central Bank. The Reserve Bank of India played a key role in putting in place a set of policies that kept India insulated. What was the RBI's perspective and how was it achieved? This volume answers these questions. It puts together the speeches of Y. V. Reddy, delivered by him during his tenure as Governor, Reserve Bank of India, between September 2003 and September 2008. The selection of speeches provide insights into the challenges as they emerged from time to time to the management of India's calibrated integration with global economy during a very eventful period for both global economy and India. The book has special focus on money finance and banking. Significant attention is devoted to the financial integration of Indian economy with global economy. Of contemporary interest is the account of global financial imbalances and the financial crisis.The author addresses the current challenges thrown up by the ongoing crisis which have to be addressed as part of increasing integration of Indian economy with global economy. He provides a ring side view of the dynamics of policy making especially the interaction between central bank and public policy. The volume combines an in depth understanding of theory and practice of policy.
was Governor of the Reserve Bank of India from September 2003 to September 2009. Prior to being the Governor, Dr Reddy was Executive Director for India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Bhutan at the International Monetary Fund since August 2002 and subsequently also served as advisor. Before this, he was Deputy Governor of the Reserve Bank of India. He has been a member of The Commission of Experts of The President of The UN General Assembly on Reforms of The International Monetary and Financial System. He has also been a Guest of The Committee on Global Thought, Columbia.
Sri Venkateswara University in India and the University of Mauritius recognised his contributions by awarding him Doctor of Letters (Honoris Causa) and Doctor of Civil Law (Honoris Causa) respectively. He is also an Honorary Fellow of the London School of Economics and Political Science.
Dr Reddy was Secretary, Ministry of Finance, and Additional Secretary, Ministry of Commerce in the Government of India. He served the Government of Andhra Pradesh in several capacities including as Principle Secretary and Secretary – Finance and Planning, Collector and District Magistrate etc. He has been closely associated with several academic institutions in both teaching and research capacities. He has authored several articles and published a number of books. His first book post-retirement is India and the Global Financial Crisis: Managing Money and Finance published by Orient BlackSwan in May 2009.