An anatomy of financial sector reform

When one sees the word "untold" in the title, one would think that this would be some sort of a scoop if it is sensational, or a serious piece of research from classified and archival papers if it is sober.

To that extent, the book overpromises and under-delivers. It is a retold story of India's financial sector reforms.

Rajrishi Singhal is meticulous and organised in his approach to the chronicle. Where there are allencompassing chapters that set the tone and the direction of how the financial sector is moving, there are also chapters that look at specific and significant sectors-equity markets, co-operative banks, non-bank finance companies (NBFCs), commercial banks and the thematic issue of non-performing assets. He touches on some related sectors-mutual funds and insurance - but does not delve deep into them.

Nevertheless, the book is interestingly organised and well-written and gives us the story of reform objectively.

The book uses the Budget speech of 1991 and the announcement of reforms as the pivot point that fundamentally changed the tone of financial sector reforms. Yes, it changed both the tone and the pace of financial sector reforms as a trigger point, but it did not dictate the pace of the reforms. The pace of the reforms was dictated largely by scams and scandals rather than the urgency and need for reform. The difference between before and after 1991 was that in the preliberalisation era, when scams occurred -the Nagarwala, Dalmia and the Mundhra scandals - they did not result in any significant systemic change. They were seen as episodic events that needed to be dealt with as a law and order problem, whereas most of the post-1991 scams resulted in introspection about systemic structures and their relevance.