A makeover for North Block

The Indian economy faces tough challenges, but the pressure today is more on Mint Road

A recent conversation with a Mumbai-based financial market analyst provided an interesting perspective on perceptions of how the challenges before the Indian economy were being managed by North Block, headquarters of the Union finance ministry, and Mint Road, headquarters of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). In the past, the usual response from financial analysts, based in Mumbai, would be marked by complaints about how North Block was getting most things wrong, complicating problems for the central bank. In contrast, Mint Road was seen to be doing its best to contain those damages.

The tone of the response last week was