A FLY ON THE RBI WALL:
AN INSIDER’S VIEW OF THE CENTRAL BANK
AUTHOR
ALPANA KILLAWALA
PUBLISHED BY
RUPA PUBLICATIONS
PAGES
248
PRICE
Rs 595
Just by being in the communication department for my entire tenure in the RBI, I was synonymous with communication there. If the external world knew the RBI, it would first be through the governor, and then through me. The media would often say this to make fun of me. I called it an occupational hazard. However, by being in the same function for over 26 years, I was also a kind of memory bank on the communication function. Just as someone else would be in some other department. I see nothing wrong in it. Either you are an expert by education or you learn the job through experience.
Unfortunately, the moment one achieved expertise through experience, one would get transferred to a different department or a regional office. While transfer was an accepted principle, it was often executed with vengeance even at the RBI. There were many cases in which the RBI executed transfers only so that the incumbent did not develop expertise and did not enjoy the benefits deriving out of that, like connections with other central bankers or getting called for giving talks on the subject.
This became even more pronounced when RBI officers started getting opportunities to go abroad for learning or sharing their knowledge in the central banking community. A typical RBI officer would thus be a jack of all trades but master of none. I once called ourselves ‘mediocre’ in a top-management meeting and there was pin-drop silence for a moment. And then business moved ahead as if nothing had happened.
This story is from the July 2024 edition of Outlook Business.
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This story is from the July 2024 edition of Outlook Business.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
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