Letters: KSK: Gentleman-economist

News of the death of K S Krishnaswamy, the former deputy governor of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), took my mind back to April 9, 1956 when I joined the central bank's Department of Research and Statistics as an economic assistant. I was posted to be KSK's assistant, who was then a deputy director in the division of rural economics. I had already heard of his accomplishments. He was considered the author of the First Five-Year Plan document. At the Planning Commission, he laid the foundation for future planning efforts in association with the Director of Perspective Planning, Pitambar Pant. It was at a time when the database for the Indian economy was weak with statistics on its different vital aspects missing. He joined the RBI as a research officer, but there were persistent attempts by the Planning Commission to take him back. KSK had already established his reputation as an outstanding economist and, to retain him, RBI Governor Rama Rao decided to promote him as a deputy director overlooking the seniority of more than half a dozen officers - a few of whom were also meritorious. He left for Washington DC to become a member of the faculty at the World Bank's training institution, Economic Development Institute, to which he later returned as director. He was the only Indian to hold that prestigious post. On his return from the US, he was made the principal adviser superseding the claims of his seniors. This time, Governor Jagannathan prevented him from joining ICICI on lucrative terms.

As one who observed KSK over a period of a quarter-century, I could say he contributed both in policy making and research. The period of his work was the turbulent 1970s with malevolent forces afflicting the economy both internally and externally. He believed in conventional monetary policy instruments such as the CRR, SLR and selective credit control, and did not accept the theory that these represented financial repression. His emphasis was on controlled monetary expansion keeping growth in view. He did not believe in the concept of a "tolerable" or "acceptable" inflation rate, which bedevils policy making today. On the research side, he started the process of the professionalisation of the economic department that saw its logical culmination during the time of C Rangarajan as deputy governor. Luckily, this process has continued, thanks to the academically-minded deputy governors and governors. On one occasion, when the RBI's annual report prepared by the staff was not to his satisfaction, KSK dictated the entire document to his secretary. This prestigious statutory publication of the central board of directors read like rural credit survey reports earlier, the so-called analysis being no more than the reading of the tables. He encouraged the younger economists to use modern concepts in their research work in contrast to some of his predecessors who had only an elementary degree in economics or were commerce graduates, and had not kept themselves updated. He was instrumental in starting the RBI occasional papers. He was one of the RBI's few economists recognised in international circles. One can find references to his contributions in the books by Baumol, Little-Mirrlees and others. KSK was a great economist and a greater human being. I have never heard of his losing temper or throwing about his authority. He was a perfect gentleman.

A Seshan, Mumbai

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