Press Releases

The Reserve Bank of India today published its Report on Currency and Finance of the last four years - from 2003–2004 to 2006-2008 as a special volume. The special volume of the Reports on Currency and Finance brings together the analytical work of the last four Reports with the objective of providing greater access to research conducted in the Reserve Bank in areas of monetary policy, central banking, financial markets and the banking sector. For the first time, the special volume is made available for purchase through Jain Book Agency, C/9, 'B' Block, Opposite Metro Station, Rajiv Chowk, Connaught Place, New Delhi 110 001 and its distributor network. The special volume will also be available in all RBI offices for purchase.

The Reserve Bank publishes Report on Currency and Finance every year. Since 1998-99, the Report has been theme based. So far, eight such thematic reports have been released covering several important contemporary issues concerning central banking and macro economic aspects relating to India. The last report was released in August 2008. Since the themes of the last four editions of the Report on Currency and Finance were on the major functional areas of the Reserve Bank, it was considered useful to release the issues of the Report on Currency and Finance from 2003-04 to 2006-08 as a special volume. The special volume will also supplement the analysis done by the Committee on Financial Sector Assessment, the report of which is likely to be published soon. The Committee on Financial Sector Assessment (Chairman: Dr. Rakesh Mohan was constituted in September 2006 to undertake a comprehensive self-assessment of the financial sector. The Committee has made an objective assessment of India's financial sector based on three mutually reinforcing pillars: financial stability and stress testing; legal, infrastructural and market development issues; and assessment of the status and implementation of financial standards and codes.

The special edition of the Reports on Currency and Finance comprises five volumes: The Evolution of Monetary Policy, 2003-04 (Volume I); The Evolution of Central Banking in India, 2004-05 (Volume II); Development of Financial Markets and Role of the Central Bank, 2005-06 (Volume III); and The Banking Sector in India: Emerging Issues and Challenges, 2006-08 (Volume IV and Volume V).

The first volume based on the theme 'The Evolution of Monetary Policy' focusses on the developments in monetary policy in India since the early 1990s. The report traces the changes in the monetary policy framework in terms of objectives, targets and operating procedures. This is followed by a discussion on monetary management in an open economy, especially in view of the multiple external shocks impacting the economy during the period of reform. The Report then attempts an assessment of the effectiveness of monetary policy in achieving its key objectives, viz., inflation and credit availability.

The second volume covers the theme 'The Evolution of Central Banking in India' and documents the evolution of central banking in India over its seventy years of existence.

The third volume focuses on Development of Financial Markets and Role of the Central Bank. It covers various segments of financial markets: money, credit, foreign exchange, government securities, equity and corporate debt markets and also the whole range of issues relating to financial market integration.

The fourth and fifth volumes attempt an in-depth analysis of the various aspects of Indian banking, such as, management of resource mobilisation; management of risk and capital, lending and investment operations of banks; financial inclusion; consolidation and competition; efficiency, productivity and soundness; and regulatory and supervisory challenges.

Alpana Killawala
Chief GeneralManager