Monetry policy, financial stability and central banking in India

The book covers an extensive canvas of macroeconomic thinking, monetary matters and the changing face of central banking the world over, with special reference to India. Interestingly, it also deals with fundamentals of finance in some detail which is crucial for understanding the operational complexities of financial markets in India. While examining the issues on monetary policy formulation in India, the book effectively traverses various financial sector issues that have posed challenges before the monetary policymakers in India and abroad. These include the choice of monetary policy targets and instruments, anatomy of a financial crisis, sources of financial instability and fragility in markets. These issues that form the building blocks of the financial system and the formulation of public policy are explored with unusual analytical rigour. The initiatives taken by the Reserve Bank of India while putting in place a proactive banking regulation that compares favourably with the global best practices have been highlighted. The book also presents a detailed analysis of the structure and dynamics of the Reserve Bank of India balance sheet over the last 70 years.

A distinctive feature of the book is its attempt to place the Indian financial sector in the global context with due emphasis on the domestic and global financial markets while focusing on the latest trends in monetary and financial economics. The book makes a valuable contribution to the literature while bringing out the multifaceted character of the policy dilemmas faced by the monetary authorities in an emerging market economy like India.

The book will be exceedingly useful for the practitioners and academicians alike since it has been written by a practising central banker and a committed researcher. A rare combination of leading developments in monetary and financial sectors analysed with the insights of a central banker, the book is a lucid exposition of a wide gamut of issues on the Indian financial system. This book succeeds in presenting a panoramic view in a lucid style chat is tempered by the practical vision of a central banker.