Focus on the primary

Multiple responsibilities should not detract

In a speech last week, Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Shaktikanta Das stoked an old debate. He referred to one of his tweets in October 2018 that said “Central banks across countries have a very critical role at the current juncture. The challenge is to try and read the situation and take decisive steps in pursuit of their multiple responsibilities.” Mr Das said as the RBI governor, he would now act according to these principles. His comments were significant because two of his immediate predecessors, Raghuram Rajan and Urjit Patel, wanted the RBI to “exclusively focus” on inflation targeting.