Warrier's blog

VITALINFO: ‘I’m no Bond. I’m a banker on the move’ : ......... Change is always difficult. What we are trying to get is the maximum effect with minimum change. Our aim is to identify streng...

Image management, the missing art at PSBs - The Hindu

Needed, a Growth Commission - The Hindu

Rajan cautions against debt waiver schemes | Business Standard News Online comments posted on August 29, 2014: As one, who was inside RBI when the Agriculture and Rural Debt Relief Scheme(ARDRS),1990 was introduced and implemented, I am able to appreciate the anxieties and worries expressed by RBI Governor in the context of the present demand for more debt waiver schemes. Major component of banks’ resources is public deposits and government is dependent on taxpayers’ contribution for meeting financial commitments. Mentioned this to highlight that both banks and government have trusteeship responsibilities in regard to the funds they handle. When crops fail or natural calamities wash off assets of entrepreneurs, there has to be a transparent support system which will help those who suffer loss. If nation needs products including agricultural produce growing/manufacturing which is not commercially viable, subsidizing costs of production and marketing them becomes necessary. T...

Mostly welcome | Business Line The Hindu Business Line, August 28, 2014 Mostly welcome This refers to your editorial “Coal Truths” (August 27). While we welcome the decision of the Supreme Court in deciding the coal block allocations as arbitrary and illegal, we hope the Court will also make a distinction between mines that are far from ready and those which are in production, and also between allotments to public sector and private sector companies. Units which have started production or which have made considerable progress for production should be allowed to have the allocation, maybe with a revised price. There may not be any harm in allowing the public sector entities to continue with the same terms and conditions of allocation. S Kalyanasundaram Chennai Though the Supreme Court has categorised the coal blocks allocation as illegal, it has not cancelled them altogether. This creates uncertainty over whether these will ultimately be operated by Coal India ...

How To Grow Old Happily - Moneylife “ I have decided to stick with love. Hate is too great a burden to bear. ”  —   Martin Luther King, Jr .

An ode to the Planning Commission - The Hindu Online comments: A well articulated article bringing out the relevance and context of Planning Commission. I do not know Modi's mind. Still, I would like to believe that he has not dismissed Planning Commission as irrelevant, forgetting the content of the author's following observation "Planning was once a great idea, a wonderful fable of the dreams, even the arrogance of knowledge. It was a great experiment which became erratic, but its history, its genius, its innovations need to be told and told fully. This much even the critics of planning owe this great institution." Let us watch the reincarnation of Planning Commission, in a form and with a name that will guide the management of nation's resources for the benefit of 'WE THE PEOPLE' M G Warrier, Mumbai

VITALINFO: Raghuram Rajan, Nachiket Mor deserve better - LATH... : I  have so far resisted commenting on other journalists and their views but this once I am violating myself given rule. The myriad artic... Online comments posted on August 26, 2014: One wishes, things were as simple as this. But they are not. When media discusses an issue, participants in the debate get freedom to choose the layers they want to analyse. They can even decide the timing. This much is obvious. Back in 1960’s when I was in RBI as a trainee, the class-room joke was, in RBI a 10 paise coin will look down upon 5 paise and dictate terms. At that time the reference was to the Clerk Grade I(who got an additional allowance) bossing over Clerk Grade II. Perhaps, much has not changed inside RBI even at the highest level even today. Though the practice of having majority of the top 5 positions filled from outside has been working well, of late, their dependence on their employer for survival and on the...

Can You depend on mainstream media to report economic scams? - Moneylife As one who has been watching media for about 5 decades and as a participant in the game for a decade or so, I found  the issues  raised in the article and comments interesting. Media has several ‘religions’, ‘castes’ and ‘communities’ within. Leaders in each ‘group’ have allegiance to interests depending on their philosophy and dependence for survival. Anyone of us can ‘test’ and find out the true colour by just writing a letter to the editor and the shape it gets post-editing, if issues raised in the letter ‘hurt’ the editorial policy. Exceptions like Moneylife are there who allow freedom of expression. But their outreach is limited.  To cite one example, NPS was introduced by GOI in certain circumstances. The only publication which dared to post my views on NPS was Moneylife.in Later on some publications in print media have published my articles on the subject. But, the mainstream media still o...

The challenge of financial inclusion - The Hindu An interesting article.

5-year term for public sector bank heads mooted - The Hindu The move to appoint public sector bank heads for longer tenures is most welcome. But, to find sufficient number of suitable candidates in the age group of 50 to 55 in the pool of candidates to be considered for selection will continue to be difficult, unless a revamp of recruitment and career progression policies across hierarchies is made. Recently, one large bank had only one eligible candidate when 'selection' of candidate for the top-most position was to be made. Finance Ministry had to bend rules to make more candidates eligible for being considered.

The Hindu Business Line, August 20, 2014: Letters RBI revamp* This refers to the report “RBI Governor to hold talks with unions on HR rejig” (August 19, 2014). There can be no two views on the need for revamp of the organizational structure and restoring the pride position of the central bank by redefining its role in the context of the changes in the financial sector  during the recent couple of decades. But, the manner in which proposals are being made and the inept handling of the whole issue in RBI so far makes one wonder whether an organization which had received appreciation at the international level for its appropriate management of monetary policy and other role expectations is finding itself in the lurch when it comes to managing its own house. Dr Raghuram Rajan is a fast learner and the willingness expressed by him to negotiate the HR issues with representatives of staff and renegotiate top level changes where legislative amendments are necessary with GOI a...

Letters: A different card game | Business Standard Letters

Notes from a software spouse’s diary - The Hindu

‘Crony capitalism hampers economic growth’ - The Hindu Online comments: Well said, Shyamprasad . You  can afford to be more transparent than Dr Rajan.  One hopes this issue will be further debated. I have tried to raise some of these issues from a citizen's angle in my recently released book "Banking, Reforms & Corruption: Development Issues in 21st Century India", published by Sampark, Kolkatta(samparkworld@hotmail.com) M G Warrier

RBI to transfer Rs52,679 crore surplus profit to government - Moneylife This year RBI has chosen to transfer   almost the entire surplus to government, according to reports. It is also reported that the gesture to support GOI is persuant to a recommendation made by a panel headed by one of its directors Y H Malegam. The pressure on RBI to reduce its reserves and   pass on the proceeds to Consolidated Fund of India was not new. Immediately, one has no access to the basis on which the Malegam Panel has certified the adequacy of the central bank’s reserves   for the coming three years. Long back, after internal assessment, it was decided by RBI to target maintaining reserves at 12 per cent of the size of the balance sheet and till last year that was the objective. Practice so far has been   to give residual surplus after appropriation to central bank’s reserves. Just as ‘people get the government they deserve’, GOI and RBI can get the recommendation...

RBI transfers almost entire surplus to govt | Business Standard News  Online comments posted on August 12, 2014: “It was reasoned that government should need the fund now which is facing high fiscal deficit that’s needed to be brought down” explains it all. Just as ‘people get the government they deserve’, GOI and RBI get the recommendations they ‘need’ from panels. This is not just a premature, harsh response to the beginning of the gradual weakening of a central bank’s financial strength. Lamenting on the fall of RBI’s aggregate reserves from 11.9 per cent of balance sheet size to 10.1 per cent during the five year period ending June 2013, I had observed asunder: “To ensure that temptations of government emanating from external compulsions do not dilute the strength of RBI’s balance sheet, GOI should take measures to augment the share capital and reserves of RBI after carrying out appropriate amendment to RBI Act. Till such time RBI should be allowed to retain...

Unrelenting focus on inflation - The Hindu

Letters: Heritage and comfort | Business Standard Letters

Is the joy of small things lost forever? - The Hindu Copied below is my article on a related subject published in The New Indian Express (Timeout, 2009): WE NEED TO TEACH THEM WHAT MATTERS The ancestral wisdom that we senior citizens have inherited down the generations is something that children growing up today just don’t get opportunity to take advantage of.   I was sharply reminded of this the other day when I faced a battery of questions from my grandson, while walking with him in the garden. His doubts ranged from why one cannot straight climb to the top of the coconut tree to why the butterfly wants to enjoy honey direct from the flowers, instead of coming to the kitchen for milk! As a child, I traveled with my father much less than this three-and-a-half-year-old has already done with his parents so far. But my father spent much more time with me. The difference is attributable to the progress made by the world in the last 60 years or so. When I was h...

Rashtrapati Bhavan undergoes a resplendent makeover | Business Standard News Online comments posted on August 9, 2014: Change with the times The article “The rebirth of Rashtrapati Bhavan” by Maseeh Rahman (August 9) gave deep insight into the past glory and the present predicament of the august building and the premises it is situated. If the first Indian occupant complained that “I am in a zoo and a circus” and the present occupant is also uncomfortable with the way in which the ‘estate’ is maintained and used, there should be something wrong somewhere in the whole environment which needs correction. It is easy to brand certain sentiments ‘middleclass’, to silence or overcome flawed handling of resources and situations. That the premises is a ‘heritage’ kind of structure and the nation should preserve it is no reason to cage the first citizen in uncomfortable surroundings. Beyond research on history, architecture, the past day-to-day goings on in the premises and the kit...

LPG Subsidies kill, but are less murderous than political intentions - Moneylife Online comments: The message being sent out through the SMS via oil companies to LPG consumers is not very clear. The message reads: “Want to join nation building ? It is simple-just give up LPG subsidy. Visit www.indane.co.in or distributor for details” This is a very crude way of handling subsidy which is hard cash. Tomorrow you may get another SMS through some other agency asking you to give up something else. Why not make similar ‘appeals’ to those who owe heavy arrears of taxes or those who have ran away with bank loans and publish the results? M G Warrier

VITALINFO: Reforms and Development: Challenges Before the Pol... : “M G Warrier expresses his views with great conviction but with his predilection towards pragmatism which enables him to see a better way ... Reforms and Development: Challenges Before the Policy Makers “M G Warrier expresses his views with great conviction but with his predilection towards pragmatism which enables him to see a better way of conducting policy. His writings reflect the current economic debate and students, policy makers, opinion makers, bankers, economists and the discerning public would greatly benefit from reading this cameo of economic issues.”  - S S Tarapore, Renowned Economist Read - The Global Analyst Banking, Reforms & Corruption:   Development Issues in 21 st  Century India By M G Warrier Pubished by SAMPARK, P 34, Kalindi Housing Scheme, Calcutta-700089, INDIA  books@samparkpublishing.com    www.samparkpublishing.com ...

India hopes WTO pact talks will be revived in September | Business Standard News Online comments posted on August 2, 2014: This is no occasion for celebrating ‘successful stalling of a wrong move’ or lamenting over delay in ‘clinching a deal’ which would have changed the global business environment. The developed countries so far had successfully persuaded the Indian elite to believe that subsidy is a bad word, while they themselves practiced ‘subsidy’ by different methods. Daily destruction of unsold stock in Holland flower market to destruction of food stock and issue of food coupons in US involved element of subsidy. If one looks at the chronology of events up to Prime Minister Modi’s assertion that ‘I am more concerned about the small Indian farmer, even though I believe the trade facilitation agreement is good for India…’ the Indian stance on the issue is a timely warning to India’s own policy think tank and the advocates of ‘globalisation   at any cost’. T...