Macroeconomics of Central Banking in India
Issues and Evidence
About the Book
<p>How does a central bank interpret economic turbulence, frame policy responses, and steer an economy through uncertainty?</p>
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<p><em>Macroeconomics of Central Banking in India: Issues and Evidence</em> offers a rare and authoritative insider’s view of contemporary central banking in one of the world’s most dynamic emerging economies. Drawing on deep professional experience, including his tenure as Deputy Governor, Reserve Bank of India, Dr Michael Debabrata Patra presents a compelling narrative of India’s macroeconomic evolution—from inflation management and financial stability to external sector dynamics and monetary policy transmission.</p>
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<p>Blending theory with lived policy experience, this volume examines how strategies are designed, debated, and deployed in real time against the backdrop of global upheavals and domestic transitions. The analytical essays illuminate the intellectual foundations of policymaking while revealing the practical challenges of balancing growth, stability, and credibility in a complex economy.</p>
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<p>Indispensable for policymakers, economists, financial market professionals, and students alike, this book stands as both a scholarly contribution and a practitioner’s handbook—illuminating the craft of central banking with clarity, authority, and real-world perspective.</p>
Praise for this book
“This collection of essays from Dr Michael Debabrata Patra, a leading central banker of our times, presents a ringside, yet dispassionate, view of the intellectual edifice and praxis of Indian monetary policy. This is an ultimate go-to resource for the students and the experts of Indian monetary policy and macroeconomics.”
— Partha Ray Director, National Institute of Bank Management, Pune
“A masterpiece on evidence-based macroeconomics, that advances our understanding of how the Indian economy works and how policies are crafted and communicated to achieve the intended goals, during both crisis and normal times. A must-read to learn from one of the very best in our profession; preserve it to go back to when in doubt.”
— Sitikantha Pattanaik Chief Economist, National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) and Former Executive Director,
Reserve Bank of India
“In this book, Michael Patra has lucidly examined—in a balanced way—various sides of complex macroeconomic policy issues of great relevance such as inflation, growth and the external sector and the role of the central bank in managing these important development issues. What is more, he arrives at clear conclusions and policy suggestions. This volume is a testimony to the excellence of his work, particularly at the RBI, and to the sincerity of his commitment to macroeconomic stability and development”.
— S. Mahendra Dev Chairman, Economic Advisory Council to the
Prime Minister (EAC-PM); Former Director and Vice-Chancellor,
Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research, Mumbai
“An excellent volume that presents complex monetary policymaking—especially during highly turbulent times—in a most simplistic and artistic way… and could have been done only by Dr Patra, one of the most respected central bankers of our times… the volume also gives an insider view of how pragmatic Reserve Bank of India was in successfully navigating the economy during a period of great uncertainty….this volume is a must read by researchers, public policymakers—and especially the critics of the RBI…”
— N.R. Bhanumurthy Director, Madras School of Economics, Chennai
About the Author(s) / Editor(s)
Michael Debabrata Patra is an economist and a career central banker for four decades. He has worked in the International Monetary Fund as Senior Advisor during 2008-12. As Deputy Governor of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) from 2020 to 2025, he has been responsible for monetary policy, financial markets, financial stability, economic and policy research, statistics and information management, international relations and corporate strategy, besides overall coordination. He has also been a founder member of the Monetary Policy Committee of the RBI, which is entrusted with monetary policy decision-making in India. Educated in the Utkal University, Bhubaneswar; the Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay; and Harvard University, he has served in leadership roles in a number of organisations such as Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Deposit Insurance and Credit Guarantee Corporation; member of the Boards of Directors of the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD); and the Exim Bank. He has also served in a number of academic institutions in board-level positions such as the Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research, Mumbai; the Centre for Advanced Financial Research and Learning, Mumbai; the National Institute of Bank Management, (NIBM) Pune; the Indian Institute of Bank Management (Chairman of the Governing Board), Guwahati; and the Bankers Institute of Rural Development, Lucknow. He is currently the Chairman of the Board of Governors, Institute of Economic Growth (IEG), Delhi.
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