The Hindu Business Line : Reddy plays it cool & light

Chennai April 24 Dr Reddy's press conferences usually begin with a jovial quip. This time he began on a self-deprecatory note, "The policy was long on language and short on measures!"

When a questioner proved long-winded, Dr Reddy remarked that it reminded him of Parliamentary questions.

When another pressman wanted him to elaborate on how much the RBI would let the rupee appreciate, everyone waited with bated breath — not to see if Dr Reddy would actually give a band, but how he would tackle this tricky question.

There was no problem, as he despatched that comfortably, not letting go of the opportunity to do some back patting. He said there had been favourable reactions from a number of international agencies on "exchange rate management in India that has been commendable. There is no reason to change that policy. It continues to be what it has been and will continue to be what it is".

When another questioner wanted to know if interest rate had peaked and let it be known he was asking a "direct question", Dr Reddy replied that while he was ready for a direct question, he was not ready for a direct interrogation.

When this was followed by another questioner who gamely tried to follow up on the same question, Dr Reddy's response was to draw the parallel of the Federal Reserve, which had stopped giving forward guidance. When there was a question on "inflation targeting", Dr Reddy brought the house down by drawing attention to an official, coordinating the virtual press conference, who was just then saying, "Go to Delhi" after finishing with questions from the Mumbai press corps.