Duvvuri Subbarao as told to businessline

Dr Manmohan Singh was a great listener, an attribute you will find in very few people and among very few leaders. If you narrated something that he (Singh) already knew, he would listen to you patiently to see if you had new nuances or angles to a known issue. That is one of the things I admired about him.

Second, he had a great regard for the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) as an institution. He (Dr Singh) did everything possible to maintain RBI’s autonomy and independence. Dr Singh (who earlier was also RBI Governor) always wanted to maintain the credibility of RBI. As Finance Minister, he did not interfere with any policy direction (monetary policy).

Dr Singh also always used the RBI as a soundboard for issues unconnected with the central bank — He asked us (RBI) for our opinion on Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in single brand retail, expansion of MNREGA, and the Land Acquisition Bill. These are some of the things I remember about Dr Singh.

Asking RBI for counsel and advice on matters like this (FDI in single brand retail, Land acquisition Bill) showed not only his regard for the central bank, but his keenness to seek views from a variety of stakeholders.

Seeking opinions

One of Dr Singh’s great qualities was that he sought views, even from the unlikeliest of sources, before he formed his opinion.

I first met him (Dr Singh) when I was a mid level official in Finance Ministry in 1991 when he came in as the Finance Minister. I was four or five levels below the Finance Minister at that time. I didn’t interact with him much then, but since he was our Minister and I saw him in some meetings.

I was there in the Finance Ministry three years before Dr Singh took charge and I remembered all our struggles as a country at that time…living hand to mouth, depletion of forex reserves.

Rupee devaluation

Dr Singh came in and within the first week there was two step devaluation (of rupee). It was then an electrifying atmosphere in the Finance Ministry. Of course the government was in negotiations with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) even before that, however IMF was not willing to commit assistance until a regular government was in office.

There was such a change for us at Finance Ministry and we started seeing light at the end of tunnel when Dr Singh came in as Finance Minister in the Narasimha Rao government.

Then IMF became willing to commit assistance and foreign governments were positively inclined to interact. There was an electrifying atmosphere both within the Finance Ministry and the government.

My first stint in the Finance Ministry was from 1988 to 1993 in the Department of Economic Affairs. As Director, I was handling balance of payments, then I became Joint Secretary handling Japanese finance, currency and coins.

I was later Secretary to the Prime Minister’s Economic Advisory Council (PMEAC) under the Chairmanship of Dr C Rangarajan, where I attended several meetings with the Prime Minister.

Although I was only the Secretary in PMEAC, I had opportunity to attend high level policy meetings with Dr Singh and I was privy to that.

Published on December 27, 2024