South Centre launch of Dr. Reddy’s “Advice and Dissent”

A very interesting and revealing book Advice and Dissent by Dr. Yaga Venugopal Reddy was launched at the South Centre on 9 October 2017.

Dr. Reddy is internationally known as the person who was responsible for steering the banking and financial system of India so cautiously and so well that India did not embark on premature financial liberalisation and thus avoided the kind of systemic financial shock and crisis that has hit so many other developing countries, notably the East Asian countries in the second half of the 1990s.

Dr.Reddy was the Governor of the Reserve Bank of India, the country’s central bank, in 2003-2008.  Before that he had also been Secretary (the top civil servant) in the Finance Ministry, and after that he was Chairman of the Finance Commission (2013-2014).   His distinguished career saw him grappling with many crucial policy issues, and serving many of India’s top political leaders and senior officials.

Dr. Reddy is presently also a member of the Board of the South Centre, and has brought his experience and wisdom in service to the Centre.

The book launch was attended and facilitated by other South Centre Board Members (including Ms. Evelyne Tall, who chaired the function, and Dr. Omar El-Arini), H.E. Mr. Abdul   Minty, Convenor of the South Centre’s Council of Representatives, Dr. Yılmaz Akyüz, the Centre’s Chief Economist who presented a review of the book (see next page),  Mr. Vicente Paolo Yu, Deputy Executive Director of the Centre, Dr. Reddy himself (who spoke about his experiences and answered questions) and many diplomats from Geneva-based Missions as well as staff of UN agencies.

About the book

A journalist once asked Y.V. Reddy, ‘Governor, how independent is the RBI?’ ‘I am very independent,’ Reddy replied. ‘The Reserve Bank of India has full autonomy. I have the permission of my finance minister to tell you that.’

Reddy may have put it lightly but it is a theme he deals with at length in Advice and Dissent. Spanning a long career in public service which began in 1964, he writes about decision making at several levels. In his dealings, he was firm, unafraid to speak his mind, but avoided open discord.

In his book, Reddy gives an account of the debate and thinking behind some landmark events, and some remarkable initiatives of his own, whose benefits reached the man on the street. Reading between the lines, one recognizes controversies on key policy decisions which reverberate even now.

This book provides a ringside view of the Licence Permit Raj, drought, bonded labour, draconian forex controls, the balance of payments crisis, liberalisation, high finance, and the emergence of India as a key player in the global economy. He also shares his experience of working closely with some of the architects of India’s economic change: Manmohan Singh, Bimal Jalan, C. Rangarajan, Yashwant Sinha, Jaswant Singh and P. Chidambaram. He also worked closely with leaders like N.T. Rama Rao, as described in a memorable chapter.

As governor of the RBI from 2003 to 2008 he presided over a period of high growth, low inflation, a stable rupee and ample foreign exchange reserves—a far cry from the 1991 crisis he lived through and describes in vivid detail, when the country had to mortgage its gold to meet its debt obligations. He is credited with saving the Indian banking system from the sub-prime and liquidity crisis of 2008 that erupted shortly after his term at RBI ended.

Dr. Reddy provides insight into post-crisis reflection undertaken by several global institutions on the international monetary system and financial architecture. In addition, he describes the development of the Fourteenth Finance Commission report, which he chaired, and is considered a game changer.

With his irrepressible sense of humour, Advice and Dissent is a warm, engaging account of a life that moves easily from his career in the districts as a young public officer to the higher echelons of policy making, in a trajectory that follows change in the country itself.

About the author

Dr. Yaga Venugopal (Y.V.) Reddy was Governor of the Reserve Bank of India from 2003 to 2008. He was Chairman of the Fourteenth Finance Commission in 2013-14. Previously, he worked in the Government of India as Secretary in the Ministry of Finance, and in the Government of Andhra Pradesh as Principal Secretary. He is also a recipient of the Padma Vibhushan, India’s second highest civilian award. Currently, he is Honorary Professor at the Centre for Economic and Social Studies in Hyderabad.    He is also a Board member of the South Centre.

The above is an extract of a description of the book that was put out by the publisher.