Duwuri Subbarao Governor, RBI

Voice of sanity

Duwuri Subbarao Governor, RBI The 22nd governor of the Reserve Bank of India did not become the voice of good economics the moment he took over. He had to work hard at it, absorbing the nuances of realpolitic as he went along. He had illustrious shoes to fill, those of Yaga Venugopal Reddy, arguably one of the world’s best central bank governors ever. Subbarao, however, has come into his own in recent months, not least for his steadfast refusal to play to the gallery. These days, he counters fiscal profligacy the only way he can — by using his vocal chords, that is, after raising key policy rates 13 times since March 2010. There are two institutions Indians can genuinely be proud of — the Supreme Court and the RBI. Subbarao has played a significant part in making the latter so. Mint Road has become more important for the economy today than North Block. Increasingly, the country looks to the RBI for direction. The governor’s is the lone sane voice sending warning signals on the fiscal deficit. He has put it politely but firmly that the government needs to set its house in order.