Reddy, and Dr. Subba Rao, ably assisted by deputy governors such as SS Tarapore, Vepa Kamesan, Dr. Rakesh Mohan, K. Udeshi, Shyamala Gopinath, and Usha Thorat. The RBI’s board has also been superb, with people like Sir Purshottamdas Thakurdas and Yezdi Malegam guiding it. Interestingly, many of the governors were from the administrative services, with only one, M. Narasimham, from the RBI itself.
Nevertheless, all understood that the Reserve Bank’s role is to safeguard the monetary and financial stability of the country even while working towards its financial development. There has always been a constructive dialogue between the Government and the Bank, informed by their respective time horizons and attitudes towards risk.