 "Newsmakers of 2013")
Raghuram Rajan, Governor, Reserve Bank of India : Staying ahead of the curve
It was said about him that if there was a global tender to find Ben Barnanke’s successor, he would have easily become the next US Fed chief. The former International Monetary Fund chief economist, who walked into Mint Road in September while a currency crisis was unfolding, took the challenge in his stride and straightened up things in matter of two months. He has a penchant for surprising the market –while hiking interest rates and when leaving it unchanged – and staying ahead of the curve.
Arundhati Bhattacharya, Chairman, State Bank of India: First in 207 years
Public sector banks often grab the headlines for all the wrong reasons. But not when the new chief of State Bank of India took charge. It was a historic occasion, when the country’s largest bank got a woman head – first in its 207 years of history, in September. Bhattacharya showed that she is no less aggressive than the Mistrys and Kochhars of the world with her latest decision to cut home loan rates which was immediately followed by HDFC and ICICI Bank – the aggressive private sector players in the home loan market.
T S Vijayan, Irda chairman: Insurers’ Man Friday
TS Vijayan –made a comeback of sorts after being demoted by the finance ministry in 2012 from the post of LIC chairman. He became the regulator of the insurance sector in February at a time when the over regulated sector was looking for growth booster.
Numbers gave a sense about his priorities. The emphasis on distribution began with the guidelines on brokers and enabling banks to become brokers. This was followed by regulations on having a standard proposal form for insurance. Having an insurance repository for e-issuance of policies was one of the biggest developments of his initial tenure. Under his chairmanship, from a period of de-growth, life insurance new premiums have seen a rise of 6-7 per cent.
Urjit Patel, Deputy Governor, Reserve Bank of India: Quiet operator
Not many has seen him speaking after he assumed the most important function of the central bank -- the monetary policy department -- in January this year. This Yale University doctorate who was described as ‘refreshingly removed from the edifice of rules, routines and formal role system that bureaucracies and public institutions in India are known by’ in RBI’s in-house magazine, is now set to recommend important changes to strengthen the monetary policy framework as he is heading a committee whose mandate precisely that.
S K Roy, LIC Chairman: Getting growth back
S K Roy assumed charge of Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) at a time when the life insurance industry was in the process of entering a new product regime. Earlier head of the International Operations division at the country's largest insurer, Roy has done much more than helping the life insurance firm tide over the regulatory overhaul. LIC has seen a 100 per cent increase in business for September, in spite of volatility in the market. LIC collected Rs 6000 crore of new business premium for September. The policy revival campaign of LIC was also back under his tutelage, which led to a massive rise in renewal premiums as well. As LIC enters the new product regime on January 1 with Roy as the chairman, the industry expects its market leader position in the insurance space to continue.
Usha Ananthasubramanian, CMD, Bharatiya Mahila Bank: Women empowerment
Usha Ananthasubramanian, former executive director of Punjab National Bank, was chosen to be the chairperson and managing director of Bharatiya Mahila Bank, the first all-woman bank, which launched its operations in November. With more than 30 years of experience, across various banks, she was chosen to undertake a project envisioned by the finance minister P Chidambaram to make banking accessible to women across the length and breadth of India.
Ananthasubramanian, who was instrumental in helping Bank of Baroda enter the life insurance sector and in its re-branding activities, has a mammoth task of enabling all Indian women to have a bank account.
It was said about him that if there was a global tender to find Ben Barnanke’s successor, he would have easily become the next US Fed chief. The former International Monetary Fund chief economist, who walked into Mint Road in September while a currency crisis was unfolding, took the challenge in his stride and straightened up things in matter of two months. He has a penchant for surprising the market –while hiking interest rates and when leaving it unchanged – and staying ahead of the curve.
Public sector banks often grab the headlines for all the wrong reasons. But not when the new chief of State Bank of India took charge. It was a historic occasion, when the country’s largest bank got a woman head – first in its 207 years of history, in September. Bhattacharya showed that she is no less aggressive than the Mistrys and Kochhars of the world with her latest decision to cut home loan rates which was immediately followed by HDFC and ICICI Bank – the aggressive private sector players in the home loan market.
T S Vijayan, Irda chairman: Insurers’ Man Friday
TS Vijayan –made a comeback of sorts after being demoted by the finance ministry in 2012 from the post of LIC chairman. He became the regulator of the insurance sector in February at a time when the over regulated sector was looking for growth booster.
Numbers gave a sense about his priorities. The emphasis on distribution began with the guidelines on brokers and enabling banks to become brokers. This was followed by regulations on having a standard proposal form for insurance. Having an insurance repository for e-issuance of policies was one of the biggest developments of his initial tenure. Under his chairmanship, from a period of de-growth, life insurance new premiums have seen a rise of 6-7 per cent.
Urjit Patel, Deputy Governor, Reserve Bank of India: Quiet operator
Not many has seen him speaking after he assumed the most important function of the central bank -- the monetary policy department -- in January this year. This Yale University doctorate who was described as ‘refreshingly removed from the edifice of rules, routines and formal role system that bureaucracies and public institutions in India are known by’ in RBI’s in-house magazine, is now set to recommend important changes to strengthen the monetary policy framework as he is heading a committee whose mandate precisely that.
S K Roy, LIC Chairman: Getting growth back
S K Roy assumed charge of Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) at a time when the life insurance industry was in the process of entering a new product regime. Earlier head of the International Operations division at the country's largest insurer, Roy has done much more than helping the life insurance firm tide over the regulatory overhaul. LIC has seen a 100 per cent increase in business for September, in spite of volatility in the market. LIC collected Rs 6000 crore of new business premium for September. The policy revival campaign of LIC was also back under his tutelage, which led to a massive rise in renewal premiums as well. As LIC enters the new product regime on January 1 with Roy as the chairman, the industry expects its market leader position in the insurance space to continue.
Usha Ananthasubramanian, CMD, Bharatiya Mahila Bank: Women empowerment
Usha Ananthasubramanian, former executive director of Punjab National Bank, was chosen to be the chairperson and managing director of Bharatiya Mahila Bank, the first all-woman bank, which launched its operations in November. With more than 30 years of experience, across various banks, she was chosen to undertake a project envisioned by the finance minister P Chidambaram to make banking accessible to women across the length and breadth of India.
Ananthasubramanian, who was instrumental in helping Bank of Baroda enter the life insurance sector and in its re-branding activities, has a mammoth task of enabling all Indian women to have a bank account.