Monetary Policy

The Oxford India Short Introductions are concise, stimulating, and accessible guides to different aspects of India. Combining authoritative analysis, new ideas, and diverse perspectives, they discuss subjects which are topical yet enduring, as also emerging areas of study and debate. Monetary policy plays a pivotal role in shaping interest rates and controlling inflation. Turbulence in both during the recent global financial crisis and current sovereign debt crisis in Europe has accentuated the ever-growing interest in the role of monetary policy and the functioning of central banks. It is in this context that this Short Introduction analyses the evolution of Indian monetary policy over the historical timeline of 1934 to present times. Dividing this period into several epochs, the author explains how at various points the monetary policy was shaped by the need of hour, be it the policy of credit control to support planned development in the 1950s or the introduction of liquidity adjustment facility to meet the needs of the changing economy in the post-liberalization phase. He also shows how India's monetary policies and practices have helped it absorb the shocks of the financial crisis.