Heavenly regulators

Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee’s candid remark that “regulators are not made in heaven” in an interview to a private television channel evoked an immediate reaction from the biggest of them all: banking regulator Reserve Bank of India (RBI). The moment the relevant excerpts were aired, the network received calls from RBI asking for a transcript of the interview. The transcripts were for the 18th floor, where the governor’s office is located, the network was told. The finance minister’s plainspeak comes at a time when most regulators, including RBI, have been vocal about their independence or the potential threat to it.