Making policy for the last man in the queue

I was finance secretary in Delhi when I was appointed governor of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in September 2008. Before moving to Mumbai, I went to call on Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to thank him for the confidence he reposed in me.

- Duvvuri Subbarao

It was a brief meeting—just about 15 minutes. We talked about the economic situation, of course—the government's fiscal challenges as well as RBI's unlikely problem of defending the rupee against appreciation.

After about 10 minutes of this, I said: "Sir, you were governor of RBI yourself. Do you have any advice to give me?" Dr Singh very characteristically demurred with that faint smile of his which you saw more in his eyes than on his lips. "What advice do I give you, Subbarao? You've been in the IAS, you know the country, you know the government, and you are familiar with RBI. Do what you think is best for the economy. I am sure you will do well," he said.

After a couple of minutes, I took leave of him. As I got up, he rose from his chair, came from around the table and escorted me to the exit. At the door, he put his hand on my shoulder and said: "Subbarao, you asked for my advice a moment ago. I do want to give you one piece of advice. You are moving from the IAS into RBI. That's a big change. Unlike in the IAS, in RBI, you run the risk of getting lost in numbers like inflation, interest rate, money supply and credit growth, and you will tend to forget how all this matters to people and their livelihoods. Keep your ear close to the ground."