Leavened by his irrepressible sense of humour, RBI's former Governor Y.V. Reddy has written his autobiography "Advice and Dissent: My Life in Public Service", where he has shared anecdotes about working with former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and former Finance Minister P. Chidambaram and others.
The memoir by the former Governor of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) also talks about how, as RBI chief, he never shied away from speaking his mind. The book is published by Harper Collins India.
Advertisement
The autobiography is a warm, engaging account of a life that moves easily from his career in the districts as a young IAS officer to the higher echelons of policy making, in a trajectory that follows change in the country itself.
He also shares his experience of working closely with some of the architects of India's economic changes like Manmohan Singh (who was the Prime Minister during majority of Reddy's tenure at the RBI), Bimal Jalan, C. Rangarajan, Yashwant Sinha, Jaswant Singh, P. Chidambaram and transformative leaders like N.T. Rama Rao.
His writing also provides a ringside view of the Licence Raj, droughts, 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.
Spanning a long career in public service which began with his joining the IAS in 1964, the book also focuses on his five years at the central bank. He writes about decision-making at several levels and how firm he was when it came to RBI dealings, not afraid to speak his mind.
Reddy also gives an account of the debate and thinking behind some landmark events and some remarkable initiatives of his own. He gives readers a chance to recognise controversies on key policy decisions which reverberate even now.
The author 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.
Reddy, a Padma Vibhushan recipient, served as the Governor of RBI from 2003 to 2008.
