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”

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Rupee and SDR

A potpourri of personal thoughts and anecdotes on exchange control, the dollar, the rupee and SDR

Photo by Aakash Dhage on Unsplash

During the over three decades in central banking, I never worked in foreign exchange or related functions. Without going into detail, this was part choice and part chance. Nevertheless, my batch’s 64-week induction training involved working for two months at all desks, including clerical ones, of the Exchange Control Department (ECD), as the department was then known. When ‘management’ replaced ‘regulation’ in the erstwhile Foreign Exchange Regulation Act, ECD eschewed ‘control’ and became the Foreign Exchange Department. Similarly, the Controller in charge of the Department’s Central Office in Mumbai became a Chief General Manager like any other. Continue reading “Rupee and SDR”

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