Warrier's blog

Abheek Barua: Can the new RBI governor be a dove? : To cut interest rates, the central bank head has to open up a debate on inflation target revision... Regulate interest rates Apropos Abheek Barua’s article “Can the new RBI governor be a dove?” (July 22), let us be clear thatthe issues raised have very little to do with the individual who heads RBI. The policy formulation apparatus at Mint Road has been tampered by a blind Financial Sector Legislative Reforms Commission. The damage was controlled by the presence of one person called Dr Raghuram Rajan at the helm in RBI. GOI forced inflation targeting on Reserve Bank of India even before there was consensus among stakeholders on the parameters that should form the basis for computing inflation! A governor whose tenure was too short to be apprehensive of any problem in meeting a target with enough leeway (4 plus or minus 2 percent) accepted the challenge. Now, experts are tell...

Reform politics Apropos ET editorial “Inclusive Politics of Future Reform” (Economic Times, July 21), it was a great idea to review the progress made in taking forward the reform agenda initiated in 1991 under compelling circumstances. Your conclusion, allow me to quote: “Peace and social harmony can arise only from respecting the rights of individuals and groups, and aligning them for mutual reinforcement. And that calls for a new kind of politics, not just more economic reforms” is more eloquent than the 10 pages devoted by ET for the review of reforms, because of its relevance in today’s global context. The effort of the present government to make governance more participative need to be taken forward by people in all walks of life getting more involved in democratic processes on the one side and legislators, both in government and in opposition, devoting more time to ‘learn’ and ‘teach’ development issues in their respective constituencies. There is need for an integrat...

My granduncle's hat : S Muthiah and Ranjitha Ashok's book collects plenty of such anecdotes from erstwhile employees of British firms in India, and presents them in an immensely readable format... Excerpts from the review of the book "OFFICE CHAI, PLANTER'S BREW" by Uttaran Das Gupta "A granduncle of mine had a carefully preserved top hat in his bedroom cabinet. As far as memory serves me, he always wore pristine  dhotis  and  kurtas , and a hat seemed an incongruous addition to his wardrobe. But when asked about it, he would tell the story that had become family lore. As an employee of the British Petroleum in the 1930s, he was working outdoors on a summer day, when his immediate superior, one Mr Jones, took off his own hat and gave it to my granduncle. Like many of his generation, my granduncle rued the passing of the paternalistic British corporate culture." Interesting review.Book must be equally interesting! M G Warrier

A K Bhattacharya: Changed world of RBI governors : All new RBI governors will now have to deal with the committee system, perhaps giving up many of the powers their predecessors enjoyed... RBI, changing with times A K Bhattacharya’s article “Changed world of RBI governors” (Business Standard, New Delhi Diary, July 20) is a brief but balanced and comprehensive review of the recent happenings which have a long term impact on the functioning of Reserve Bank of India (RBI). For sure, the central bank does not get much affected by barbs by the likes of Dr Subramanian Swamy. But a concerted move by the political leadership in New Delhi and the mandarins in the North Block to assert ownership rights and to show the institution of RBI in poor light has considerably brought down the image of India’s central bank, though the presence of Dr Raghuram Rajan at Mint Road during the last three years has contained the damage to some extent. T...

Kamadenu: The war within. Dialogue with Arjuna #watercolor #... : The war within. Dialogue with Arjuna #watercolor #Bhagavadgita ... Occasional visits to this site help us think of the world 'outside'! Otherwise, most of us remain in-house and think that the modern technology-driven life is wonderful!! M G Warrier

Siddhivinayak temple opens demat account for stock donations : The temple is one of the wealthiest in the country with huge cash and gold holdings...

Kerala House moves resolution against SBT merger with SBI : ‘Move detrimental to the interests of State’... Emerging ‘Kerala Model’ for banking This refers to the report “Kerala house moves resolution against SBT merger with SBI” (HBL, July 19). Evidently, the joint move by the ruling LDF and Congress-led UDF to oppose SBT merger with SBI is a politically motivated one aimed at some temporary popularity. Let the protest go ‘on record’ for whatever it is worth.  For decades, commercial  banks in Kerala, including SBT, have been very supportive of all developmental  efforts initiated by the state government. Despite a strong deposit base partly  augmented by remittances by NRK (non-Resident Keralites) population, banks  having presence in Kerala have been trying to maintain Credit-Deposit-Ratio at  a decent level. Only recently, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan was advocating merger of State and District level coope...