Saturday, March 16, 2013

Has RBI started blinking?

It appears that many banks are having a free run in facilitating money-laundering. HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank and Axis Bank are the recent ones whose feet of clay have been exposed.

Is RBI really unaware of this pernicious practice or is it turning a Nelson's eye? It is either inefficient or lacking in ethical standards. This is a far cry from the reputation garnered by this regulator in the tumultuous days following the American sub-prime crisis. It may also mean that we gave too much credit for the capacity of RBI whereas events were working out serendipitously in favour of the sheltered Indian economy.

The RBI Governor has recently shifted his stand on interest rate reduction. It seems that the Finance Minister has forced the Governor to discover the salubrious impact of interest rate reduction. Drop in interest rates will no more aggravate inflation! Demand side pressures will be adequately taken care of by supply side enhancement!

It is a revelation to know that economic consequences are thought to be guided by Finance Minister's optimism and RBI Governor's meek submission! We are in for more economic shocks.

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