Dr. C. Rangarajan and S. S. Tarapore, then Governor and Deputy Governor of the Reserve Bank of India, respectively, adroitly charted and courageously held firm a course of financial sector reform, often in the face of a barrage of criticism. Their contribution towards reestablishing stability and encouraging economic recovery was of a magnitude which few people have the privilege of making in their lifetimes. This volume of the collected speeches of S. S. Tarapore, made between 1992 and 1996, focuses on a crucially important aspect of that challenge — the reshaping of monetary policy under the twin pressures of crisis management and structural reform. The speeches have been presented in four thematic areas:

1. Design, implementation and management of monetary policy;

2. Financial sector reforms;

3. Internal debt management; and

4. Management of exchange rate policy.

Each of the themes is introduced by an expert overview which provides the appropriate context.

To the extent the book brings out the challenges faced in the implementation of various aspects of financial reforms, it is of compelling interest for policy makers, academics and practitioners in the financial system, and to advanced students of economics, finance, commerce and business administration.

Gangadhar Darba, obtained M.A. (Eonomics) from Gokhale Institute of Politics and Economics, Pune, and Ph.D. (Economics) from the Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research (IGIDR), Mumbai. His areas of research interest include macro-economics, financial markets and econometric and applied general equilibrium models for the Indian economy. He worked as a visiting faculty at IMDR, Pune, University of Pretoria, South Africa and IGIDR, Mumbai. He is currently at the National Institute of Public Finance and Policy, New Delhi.