Festschrift to Dr. C.Rangarajan

Growth and Finance--Essays in honour of C.Rangarajan ; Edited by Sameer Kochhar ; Published by Academic Foundation ; Pages 351; Price Rs 1095/-

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The book under review is a festschrift in honour of Dr.C.Rangarajan There are 16 essays by 20 eminent authorities on banking,finance, management and public administration. In a preface the Home Minister Shri.P.Chidambaram writes ,"Today ,there is no one I know of who is more sought after, more often consulted, more dependable.more impartial,more neutral ,and more valuable in the advice he gives as far as economic policy matters are concerned than Dr. Rangarajan....I think it (this book) is a remarkable tribute not only to a very fine intellectual but also a very fine human being". A lot of what we take for granted today--for example ATMs, Credit Cards--are attributable to the financial reforms that Dr.Rangrajan broght about as Governor of R B I.

In a Foreword ,Dr.Manmohan Singh pays rich tribute to Dr Rangarajan. Dr.Rangarajan has taught at Wharton School of Finance and Commerce, Graduate School of Business Administration in New York and I I M Ahmedabad. He was Member of the Planning Commission, Deputy Governor and later Governor of Reserve Bank of India,Governor of Andhra Pradesh, Chairman of the Twelfth Finance Commission and is presently Chairman of the Prime Minister's Economic Advisory Council. We have a pithy assessment of Dr.Rangarajan by one of his successors Governor Subbarao,who has unarguably asserted--"Dr.Rangarajan.. straddled both academia and the government. What makes him unique though is the way he constructively blended what are two disparate worlds. He brought deep scholarship over a range of academic disciplines to bear on public policy...He remained deeply sensitive to real life concerns. It is this unique trait that has set him apart as one of today's most credible thinkers and advisers. Fittingly, a critic labelled him as "philosopher king"'

The sixteen essays in this volume are esentially a labour of love, affection and admiration for Dr. Rangarajan. The volume has a true head start with an unusual anecdotal history of the tumultuous times during 1982--1997 by Shri. S.S.Tarapore, who rightly mourns that in India anecdotal history is neglected as senior officials generally do not maintain personal diaries.He has presented a fascinating account of how battles were fought, policies were fashioned out after heated debates and recounts the genesis of crucial decisions made during that period.Subjects tackled included B O P crisis of 1990-91,Devaluation of Rupee,

J P C Committee.Tarapore brings out vividly how Dr.Rangarajan encouraged those working under him to articulate views diametrically opposed to his own view. According to Tarapore,"Generations to come will scarce believe that Plato's "Philosopher King" walked the corridors of the Reserve Bank in flesh and blood." One devoutly wishes that Shri.Tarapore writes the anecdotal history of the Reserve Bank during its first 75 years.

Dr.Subbarao, the Governor of R B I has analysed the ills that plague the banking system and how we should ensure that banking takes steps to evolve, grow and innovate in response to the developments in financial markets and institutions.Banking secotor in India has four challenges it has to meet head on--deepening financial inclusion, financing infrastructure, strengthening risk management and improving efficiency.Facing these challenges is sure to make banking exciting.

The essay by Kanagasabhapathy and Radhakrishnan focuses on the mainstream views on transparency and autonomy in the formulation and conduct of monetary policy, including those out of the IMF Code. It calls for exploring the possiblity of extending the management concept of 'Johari Window' to transparency in public policies with particular reference to monetary policy.

Joseph Massey emphasises the importance of financial services in developing growth, employment generation. capital allocation, savings, wealth distribution and risk management.Financial inclusion is the process of ensuring access to financial services and timely and adequate credit provision. The author has commended the efforts of RBI to increase financial literacy

Shyamala Gopinath pays tribute to Dr, Rangarajan, recalling her indebtedness to him.She recounts his role in steering the country out of the crisis of the early 1990s and laying down the foundation of the subsequent policy framework, which put the economy on a robust and reslient growth. Her essay on a macroprudential approach to regulation reveals that many ideas were originated by Dr,Rangarajan.

Other eminent writers are Y.V.Reddy, K.C.Chakrabarty, Ravi Narain, Kirit Parekh and others.Due to space constraints it is not possible to deal with all the essays in this volume but reading this volume will make amply clear the giant role by Dr.Rangarajan in several fields of Indian economy.The volume, which has been brought out by the Skoch Group is edited by Sameer Kochhar, the Chairman. He is the President of Skoch Development Foundation which is our country's leader as think-tank on social and financial matters. We owe a deep debt to Sammer Kochhar and Academic Foundation in bringing out this valuable festschrift by a number of authorities in several fields. No better tribute to Dr. Rangarajan is possible.The book is warmly commended to all economists, bankers, administrators, planners and students of economics and banking.

P.P.Ramachandran

29-05-2011