I am glad that since the establishment of the K R Narayanan Oration in 1994 to commemorate the inauguration of The Australia South Asia Research Centre of The Australian National University, remarkable personalities from the academic, intellectual and public spheres have delivered orations on a variety of issues of contemporary significance. Beginning with Dr Raja Chelliah who delivered the first Oration in 1994, other outstanding personalities such as Jagdish Bhagwati and Mr P Chidambaram through their masterly orations have enriched our understanding of different subjects. It is particularly noteworthy that all these prominent figures have played major roles in fashioning India’s agenda for development both at the academic and practical levels.
I am glad that this year’s Oration is being delivered by another renowned economist Dr C Rangarajan, who is presently serving as the Governor of Andra Pradesh. I am happy that the topic of Dr Rangarajan’s lecture is ‘Monetary Policy in a Developing Economy — The Indian Experience’.
Hailed as one of the chief architects of India’s monetary policy for several years, Dr Rangarajan during his long and distinguished career, particularly during his association with the Reserve Bank of India as Deputy Governor and subsequently as Governor, devised a monetary policy which would facilitate growth and ensure price stability. Most of the measures such as simplification and deregulation of interest rate structure, policy formulations for improving lendable resources of the Reserve Bank of India, upgradations of the information technologies and introduction of competition in the financial system, have contributed to lay down the foundation of a monetary policy to further strengthen India’s new economic environment.
While doing so Dr Rangarajan has proved that in developing countries growth of the economy and price stability can be appropriately blended. New economic policies must not only ensure prosperity and growth, these must also serve other defined goals for the society as a whole. As a moving force behind the liberalisation of our economy and as an active player and economic strategist for building up of a dynamic economy, Dr Rangarajan’s contributions have become significant. I am sure that his Oration will be an insightful exercise in understanding the economic transformation of India in all its ramifications. I am sure the range of ideas, the depth of understanding and the wide experience of Dr Rangarajan will be of importance for all developing countries grappling with the emerging realities of liberalisation and financial reforms.
K R Narayanan
New Delhi 2001