RBI must redesign itself for new challenges: Odisha Guv

As the winds of economic change blow across the country, the Reserve Bank of India must redesign itself for new challenges and opportunities that India faces, said Odisha Governor S C Jamir.
"It is wise to constantly rethink your (RBI) tools, your system and your responses. You must be wary of providing old answers to new problems, such as how you finance our infrastructure," Jamir said while addressing the golden jubilee celebration of the Reserve Bank Employees' Association here today.
Noting that the RBI must continue to be at the centre of social and economic transformation and in the creation of fair and inclusive societies that provide equal opportunities for all, Jamir said besides the primary role, the central bank has two other important mandates - inclusive growth and development and financial stability.

Stating that the primary role of RBI is monetary stability, that is, to sustain confidence in the value of the country's currency, Jamir said "Ultimately, this means low inflation, whether that inflation stems from domestic sources or from changes in the value of the currency, from supply constraints or demand pressures."
The concerns of Reserve Bank have always been to maintain price stability and ensuring availability of credit for the productive requirements of the economy, Jamir said adding, since its inception, provision of credit and facilities to the agriculture sector has been one of the major objectives of the RBI.

Quoting first Prime Minister Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, Jamir said "Everything else can wait, but not agriculture."
In pursuit of the objective of inclusive growth strategy, the Reserve Bank has stepped up its efforts to promote financial inclusion in the recent years by increasing the penetration of the formal financial sector, he said.
Stressing upon the role of employees in furthering the objectives of RBI, the Odisha Governor called upon the employees to continue to show and work with remarkable devotion and commitment to the task at hand and hold high the reputation of the central bank.