The Hindu Business Line : The other side of the Governor

Chennai, Oct. 31 Central banking, they say, is more about being seen than being heard. But quarterly monetary policy reviews provide an opportunity to do both. And sometimes convey the impression of being loquacious while at the same time giving very little away.

The RBI Governor, Dr Y. Venugopal Reddy’s post-Credit Policy press conferences are, in that respect, a treat to watch. There is usually an opening statement for about 10 minutes in which he gives the background to the latest policy. This is then followed by questions from the press corps in Mumbai and various cities across the country—thanks to video conferencing.

The media shoot their questions briskly even as Dr Reddy handles them with calm aplomb. Some are tackled head on. Some are dodged. Some are passed on to colleagues. But there is always humour and one can hear the ripples of laughter echoing everywhere, when Dr. Reddy gives one more of his one-liners.

When Dr Reddy was asked if the CRR hike was done in anticipation of a cut by the US Federal Reserve, he replied he could not frame policy with expected moves. He said with a grin, “ Theoretically, even Mr Ben Bernanke is not supposed to know what they are going to do tomorrow. Can I assume what he can’t?”

When one correspondent wanted to know what advice Dr Reddy would give banks, he responded: “I’ll give advice — on payment of a fee — after I retire.”

When a questioner from Hyderabad wanted to know the RBI steps had planned to control fake money, his response was: “This is about monetary policy. So talk about real money!”

When a correspondent from Delhi wanted to know the status of borrowers rights and remarked that the Banking Division seemed to be going slow on this, he played right into Dr Reddy’s hands. Dr Reddy complimented him on his good access to officials in the ministry. And when it was time to move to the next centre but there was still more questions from Delhi, he said, “OK. One more. Delhi has the last word.”

When someone wanted to know what his response was to the comments of US Treasury official Mr Paulson on “the value of rupee should reflect fundamentals”, he parried that smilingly, “It is difficult to comment on such comments.”

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