ADVICE AND DISSENT

Few people know more about India’s financial system than Dr Y.V. Reddy. And even fewer have the authority that he commands.’ – Raghuram Rajan, former RBI governor’If America had a central bank chief like Y.V. Reddy, the US economy would not have been in such a mess.’ – Joseph Stiglitz, economist and Columbia University professor’One among the brightest intellectuals living in India today…the most eminent central banker of the last decade across the world.’ – P. Chidambaram, former Union finance minister ‘How did India manage to beat the odds? [It was] largely the result of the sound management and foresight of one man: Yaga Venugopal Reddy.’ – Arvind Panagariya, vice-chairman of the Niti Aayog’I have high regard for him for two reasons. First, his complete integrity. There are very few civil servants like him who are not self-centered. He does not want to please any bureaucrat or minister. Second, his devotion to work. Intellectually, he is very open.’ – Bimal Jalan, former RBI governor’Unlike Alan Greenspan, who didn’t believe it was his job to even point out bubbles, much less try to deflate them, Mr Reddy saw his job as making sure Indian banks did not get too caught up in the bubble mentality.’ – Joe Nocera, American journalist and author’Dr Reddy is of a generation that believed public service was the highest calling.’ – Karina Robinson, editor, The Banker magazine As governor of the RBI from 2003 to 2008 Y.V. Reddy presided over a period of high growth, low inflation, a stable rupee and ample foreign exchange reserves – a far cry from the 1991 crisis he lived through and describes in vivid detail, when the country had to mortgage its gold to meet its debt obligations. He is credited with saving the Indian banking system from the sub-prime and liquidity crisis of 2008 that erupted shortly after his term at RBI ended.Leavened with his irrepressible sense of humour, Advice and Dissent 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.