Banker to Banks

Members of the central banking fraternity, participants from the financial, academic and media communities, other distinguished guests: on behalf of the Reserve Bank of India, let me welcome you all to this Second International Research Conference. Genesis of the Conference The Reserve Bank of India’s First International Research Conference was held in 2010. In that year, The Reserve Bank, which commenced operations on April 1, 1935, entered its 75th year. A series of

(originally delivered in Hindi) I am pleased to visit Lalpur Karauta village today and meet the people here. 2. I have come here from the Reserve Bank of India, Mumbai. The Reserve Bank also has an office in Lucknow and my colleagues from there have also accompanied me today. On this occasion, along with Bank of India and other banks, your member of parliament Shri P.L.Punia and senior officers of the Uttar Pradesh state government are also present. 3. You must be thi

The case for financial inclusion is not based on the principle of equity alone – access to affordable banking services is required for inclusive growth with stability. Achieving financial inclusion in a country like India with a large and diverse population with significant segments in rural and unorganised sectors requires a high level of penetration by the formal financial system. Even in areas that are well covered by banks, there are sections of society excluded f

Distinguished Friends, I am thankful to the organisers for inviting me to participate in the 2006 Program of Seminars on the Theme 'The World in Asia, Asia in the World'. The theme for this session has tantalising words: problems, plenty, challenges, opportunities, accumulation, large, foreign, windfall and reserves. It may be a little hard to match the sense of these words in an address by central bankers. So, I intend taking a slightly broader view of the subject an

Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen, I am thankful to Shri Swarup for inviting me to this august gathering. The Conference represents an important step by the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) to distil from the experiences of other countries in its quest for enhancing the levels of financial education in our country. The collaboration with Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) which has been playing a pivotal role in thi

Friends, it gives me great pleasure to share my thoughts on some of the elements of Basel II implementation in India with this august gathering. I firmly believe that periodical sharing of thoughts and views by us on issues of topical relevance with bankers - both domestic and foreign; eminent bank regulators and supervisors from abroad; and above all - the users of the banking system, is fundamental for promoting greater transparency and understanding of the intent a

The world of finance has always had an intuitive understanding of risk. The risks that emerge from the increased variety and complexities of banking business, as well as from the various new drivers of growth has pushed the contours of risk management in banks much beyond what would probably have existed in the more traditional forms of banking activity of accepting deposits and lending in relatively stable environments. Internationally, the last two decades or so hav

Shri Dua, Shri Sen and friends. I thank the Bankers’ Club, Kolkata and Shri J.P. Dua, Chairman, Allahabad Bank for providing me the opportunity to speak to you this evening. As you know, banks will be switching over to a ‘base rate’ system of loan pricing from 1st July 2010. Besides the announcement of base rate, what is of greater significance is that it brings to fruition complete deregulation of rupee lending rates of banks, a process that began two decades ago. Th

Photograph I am delighted to be here today for the inauguration of the RBI Archives Museum. You will all recall that we have just concluded the Platinum Jubilee celebrations of the Reserve Bank. The events and initiatives that we had taken up as part of the celebrations centred around introspection on the evolution of the Reserve Bank, reflection on its current and future challenges, and on how the Reserve Bank can fulfill its objectives even better so that it continu