Contrary to several gloomy forecasts, the Indian banking sector has been surprisingly resilient in the face of the pandemic. This is because corporates, which account more than half the loans, are in better shape and banks are well-capitalised. This bodes well for loan growth and bank performance post the pandemic.
Monetary Policy in India: A Modern Macroeconomic Perspective edited by Chetan Ghate and Kenneth M Kletzer, Springer, 2016; pp xiii+652, price not indicated.
There is a strong nexus between the level of reserves, frequency of intervention, and exchange rate variability. Given the current exchange rate arrangements, there is a mandate to accumulate reserves in line with other developments such as import growth, growth in short-term external debt, and so on. The Reserve Bank of India seems to have no option, especially in times of capital flight, than to allow the exchange rate to absorb market pressure if the volume of reserves held is not adequate. This indicates a limited scope for using other instruments. The objective of accumulating additional reserves seems to override the ambition of exchange rate stability when there is a limit on the capacity to intervene imposed by the reserve shortfall. Therefore, reserves matter in times of crisis.
Keynes’s supposition of short-term interest rates as the key driver of long-term government bond yields is investigated for India, after controlling for various key economic factors. It is seen that long-term interest rates of Indian government bonds are positively associated with the short-term interest rates of Treasury Bills. Higher long-term interest rates on IGBs are influenced by higher short-term interest rates, higher rates of inflation, a faster pace of industrial production and higher fiscal deficit (and vice versa). The bond market was disrupted during 2013 when yields rose sharply in India. Incorporating this structural break improved our findings.
The impact of demonetisation on the movement of currency in circulation in India over time is examined. Four different models of currency in circulation are used to estimate these models using weekly data from April 1992 to October 2016. An analysis of out-of-sample forecast performance of these models prior to demonetisation reveals that the series could be forecast well before this event. Out-of-sample forecast errors of these models during the post-demonetisation period are, therefore, interpreted as shocks due to demonetisation. As far as weekly growth rates of the series are concerned, we observe no major change in intra-month seasonality in currency in circulation once the shock due to demonetisation mitigated.
A study of the financial processes underlying India’s high-growth trajectory of the 2000s and its relationship with “riskless capitalism,” a term first used by Raghuram Rajan in November 2014, finds that the Indian growth story cannot be over-simplistically explained as a result of “market-oriented” reforms. Public sector bank credit-financed investments, particularly in the infrastructure sector, played a significant role in sustaining growth, most crucially after the global economic crisis. Such a growth trajectory, however, proved to be unsustainable with the expansionary phase coming to an end in 2011–12 and bad loans piling up in the banking system.
The slowdown in the economy and the resultant rise in bad loans have led to criticism of public sector banks and questioning of their raison d’être. While there is a rush to find a quick solution by merging PSBs, it would be wise to examine the ground realities closely. India needs a mix of efficiently run PSBs and aggressive private banks to achieve growth and development along with social justice.
The Reserve Bank of India should take into consideration longer term liquidity management for smooth monetary transmission. It must clearly define “durable liquidity” in the form of some quantitative variable and set its desired path for one year or so. This will anchor expectations on future interest rate and liquidity premium, and certainly improve the link between the interest rates in various terms to maturity. Moreover, the desired target for durable liquidity can also serve to improve overall monetary policy effectiveness.
The Narendra Modi government appears to have decided to privatise public sector banks (PSBs). Preparations are underway with arguments being marshalled that “there is no alternative” to privatisation.
