Acknowledgements ix
Introduction 1
PART I
Prospects for the Indian Economy 9
1 Financing India’s Aspirations 11
2 The Indian Economy: Opportunities and Challenges 19
3 The Dawn of India’s Age 25
4 INDIA@75 33
PART II
Monetary Policy in India 41
5 Communicating Monetary Policy 43
6 Recalibrating from Divergence to Convergence: The Indian Experience 49
7 Assessing Inflation Targeting 57
8 Geopolitical Spillovers and the Indian Economy 64
9 Future Readying India’s Monetary Policy 72
10 The Lighter Side of Making Monetary Policy 80
11 Lost in Transmission? Financial Markets and Monetary Policy 89
12 Taper 2022: Touchdown in Turbulence 98
13 The RBI’s Pandemic Response: Stepping out of Oblivion 106
14 Financial Inclusion Empowers Monetary Policy 115
15 Monetary Policy: Trial by Pandemic 122
16 Statistics Shape the Setting of Monetary Policy 129
PART III
Financial Stability 137
17 Navigating Emerging Challenges for Deposit Insurers and Fortifying Crisis Preparedness 139
18 New Vistas in Deposit Insurance in India 145
19 India’s Financial Sector: From Exuberance to Resilience 150
20 Fifty Years of Indian Banking Through the Lens of the Basic Statistical Return 157
PART IV
International Dimensions 161
21 The Relevance of SEACEN in a Turbulent World 163
22 Productivity: The Promise of Progress 170
23 Dynamics of Inflation in South Asia 177
24 Growth and Development in the BRICS Economies: From Acronym to Global Economic Powerhouse 183
PART V
New Vistas in Central Banking 193
25 New Frontiers in Economic Research 195
26 Unlocking New Growth Frontiers in the Digital Age 201
27 Harnessing Digital Technologies in Central Banks: Opportunities and Challenges 208
28 Towards A Greener, Cleaner India 214
Biography
Michael Debabrata Patra is an economist and has been a career central banker for four decades. He has also worked in the International Monetary Fund as Senior Advisor during 2008-12. As Deputy Governor of the RBI during 2020–2025, he has been responsible for monetary policy, financial markets, financial stability, economic and policy research, statistics and information management, international relations and corporate strategy, besides overall coordination. He is also a founder member of the monetary policy committee of the RBI, which is entrusted with monetary policy decision-making in India. Educated at Utkal University, Bhubaneshwar, the Indian Institute of Technology, Mumbai, and Harvard University, USA, he has served in leadership roles in a number of organisations, including chairman of the board of directors of the Deposit Insurance and Credit Guarantee Corporation and member of the boards of directors of the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development and the Exim Bank. He has also served in board-level positions at a number of academic institutions, such as the Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research, Mumbai; the Centre for Advanced Financial Research and Learning, Mumbai; the National Institute of Bank Management, Pune; the Indian Institute of Bank Management (chairman of the governing board), Guwahati; and the Bankers Institute of Rural Development, Lucknow.
This book is an important contribution to our understanding of how monetary policy and policymaking impact our lives and economies. The book succinctly describes the dilemmas and trade-offs faced by central banks in fulfilling their core mandate in a fast-changing macroeconomic environment characterized by unprecedented shocks and heightened uncertainties. The original blend of theory and practice, summed up aptly under the four broad themes of the book, is essential reading for anyone interested in how economies and policymaking work and can also be a complementary guide to textbook economics for students and academics. All in all, this true practitioner’s perspective on monetary policy and financial stability in the face of global spillovers, technological innovations and climate change stands out in a subtle amalgamation of knowledge and experience. A must.
Álvaro Pereira, Chief Economist and G20/G7 Finance, Economics Department, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, Paris, France
As the name Testimonials of Tumultuous Times suggests, this book by Dr. Michael Patra neatly presents the trials and the tumult that mark the 21st century from a central banker's perspective. It delves into the intricacies of monetary policy making in uncertain times and the conflicts and challenges that central banks face. The book is equally a snapshot of India's journey through these eventful times and the role that it can play in reshaping the global economy by being the voice of the global south. This book is a testimony to the excellence of Dr. Patra's work and sincerity of his commitment. Through the lens of India's experience in managing policy trade-offs amidst unprecedented and overlapping shocks, it provides a useful framework to guide practical policy making, which could serve as a template for emerging economies and as a valuable reference material in academic institutions.
S. Mahendra Dev, Professor and Chairman, Institute for Development Studies, Andhra Pradesh, India
