Central Bankers Archives - Tiger and Palm Tree

IG Patel: IMF and a Bengali family

Dr IG Patel presumably during his IMF days

On the occasion of Dr IG Patel’s centenary, I gave an overview of his life and career (see here). I promised to elaborate in different parts. In the first part (see here), I covered IG’s early life and education. We concluded the first part by referring to IG being seconded to the International Monetary Fund as part of efforts to train young economists who could come back and serve the Government of India. In this second part, I discuss his time at the IMF. At the end, I narrate about his getting to know in Washington, D.C., a Bengali family from Dacca in present-day Bangladesh. Continue reading “IG Patel: IMF and a Bengali family”

IG Patel: Early life and education

Monday, 11 November 2024, marks the centenary of Dr IG Patel. In my blog on Substack (see here), I gave an overview of his life, career, and achievements. I suggest that you read that before continuing here. At the end of that post, I promised to cover different aspects of his life in greater detail. In this first part, I cover Dr IG Patel’s early life and education. Continue reading “IG Patel: Early life and education”

In search of Sir James Taylor

The youngest and the only Governor of the Reserve Bank of India to die in office, James Taylor spent almost his entire career in the cause of central banking in India for around two decades. In that sense, he was India’s first real central banker.

Like a flower, he comes forth and withers.
He also flees like a shadow and does not remain.
Job 14:2

Continue reading “In search of Sir James Taylor”

Answers to RBI Quiz 2022

The long answers to RBI Quiz 2022 are given below: Continue reading “Answers to RBI Quiz 2022”

Year-end Quiz 2022

Quiz 2022, like last year, focuses on central banking in India.

Reserve Bank of India, Chennai, around 1960, when the building was inaugurated.

There is a prize, like last year, for the first person to answer all questions correctly. The details are in my substack post. Participation in the quiz is open to those who were following me on substack at gsreekumar.substack.com as on 31 December 2022. Continue reading “Year-end Quiz 2022”

My meetings with Dr Reddy

Dr Yaga Venugopal Reddy (www.yvreddy.com)

Another day in 1998

From 1996 to 1998, I was an AGM and Member of Faculty at the Reserve Bank of India’s Zonal Training Centre (ZTC) in Mumbai. The ZTC was then on the fourth floor of the Bank’s Byculla Office opposite the Bombay Central Station. The story of my meetings with Dr Reddy starts on 7 October 1998. On my way home, I saw a tray next to a pillar on the ground floor. It always had letters addressed to the hoi polloi, staff not important enough to receive letters at their desks. Those were still snail mail days. Nevertheless, I always ignored the tray. But that day, my sixth sense indicated a letter for me.

As I rifled through the pile, my fingers fell on a white cover with the RBI logo in navy blue at one end. Turning it over, I found my name and address scrawled at the right end. On the left was printed, also in navy blue, “Reserve Bank of India Central Office Bombay”. Above it was another scribble: Dr YV Reddy, Deputy Governor. Continue reading “My meetings with Dr Reddy”

RBI Quiz 2021 – The Answers

Last week I had posted questions for the RBI Quiz 2021. The answers are provided below. I should add that most of these questions are curtain raisers to future and more elaborate posts on the subject. Stay tuned! Continue reading “RBI Quiz 2021 – The Answers”

Reserve Bank of India Quiz 2021

Wish all the readers of ‘Tiger and Palm Tree’ season’s greetings and best wishes for a happy new year. Please see below the questions in Reserve Bank of India Quiz 2021. I will post the answers next week.

Continue reading “Reserve Bank of India Quiz 2021”

The Report on Currency and Finance

The New Report on Currency and Finance

The Reserve Bank of India released its new Report on Currency and Finance (RCF) in February this year. This comes nearly a decade after the previous issue. The RCF is a non-statutory report, unlike the Annual Report and Report on Trend and Progress of Banking in India (RTP). The former is published under the Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934. The RTP is published under the Banking Regulation Act, 1949. The 2021 RCF is significant in three ways. It is the centenary of the first consolidated report of the Controller of the Currency, which became the RCF. For the first time, it is a discussion paper on a specific issue. It is also the first issue of RCF with a foreword signed by the Governor, Reserve Bank of India. The RCF has had a chequered history, which is worth recounting. Continue reading “The Report on Currency and Finance”

Roses and Magnolias: Deshmukh’s Lovely Gardens

“…appreciation of a garden lies not with the gardener but with the observer of the many gardens I have cultivated.”
C.D. Deshmukh, The Course of My Life.

Deshmukh Chowk

If one were to walk down from Churchgate in South Mumbai, towards Mantralaya, along the Jamshetji Tata Road, the third round is Deshmukh Chowk. It is named after Chintaman Dwarakanath Deshmukh, the third Governor of the Reserve Bank of India and India’s third Finance Minister. There could be two claimants to getting the roundabout so named after Deshmukh. Continue reading “Roses and Magnolias: Deshmukh’s Lovely Gardens”