The Hindu Business Line : <I>The vastu of forex </I>

India's foreign exchange reserves galloping beyond $200 billion has sent a veteran colleague into a nostalgic overdrive. In 1991, the then Finance Minister, Manmohan Singh, had started with $1.8 billion as total reserves and when he left office five years thence, the kitty had not crossed $20 billion by any significant amount. Reminded often about his drab office in North Block, the prudent Dr Singh left instructions that any overhaul of the chamber would have to wait till the reserves crossed $22 billion. His successor, P. Chidambaram, waited patiently and only after the reserves crossed the set threshold, did he hand over the office for renovation. His successor, Yashwant Sinha, continued to occupy the refurbished room and he too was successful in raising $4.5 billion through India Millennium Deposits when the country faced international isolation after going nuclear. The good run continued during Jaswant Singh's time and he had the privilege of announcing India's reserves reaching $100 billion for the first time ever. Today, Chidambaram sits in the same room and the kitty has swelled to beyond $200 billion. The veteran scribe now feels that if RBI Governor Y. V. Reddy finds it difficult to grapple with the dollars swimming around, he should probably suggest another renovation of the Finance Minister's office. Maybe Vastu might help where monetary policies can't.

Our New Delhi Bureau