Sinha, the Sphinx

At the 20th anniversary celebrations of the Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations (Icrier) the hot topic of discussion was the silence of Union finance minister Yashwant Sinha.
The programme said Mr Sinha would speak, but Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Bimal Jalan, who chaired the meeting, announced that Mr Sinha had decided not to speak. No explanations given.

A senior opposition party leader in the audience expressed the view that Mr Sinha seemed depressed and forlorn, with all the negative news about the economy. “It is when the markets are depressed that the finance minister should not appear to be depressed. His silence will only worry the markets more.”

Do FMs pull punches?
While making the announcement that Mr Sinha will not speak, at the Icrier meeting, Dr Jalan raised many eyebrows when he expressed relief at the finance minister’s decision.

Central bankers are always afraid of finance ministers, he said. They may feel assured that the finance minister is willing to show “fiscal restraint”, but after hearing them out can he also be expected to show “physical restraint” worried Jalan, as he ducked away on the dais!

The return of the prodigal
Why is the Infrastructure Development Finance Corporation (IDFC) abuzz with rumours that the advisor to the finance minister Dr Rakesh Mohan, who is currently on leave from IDFC as its executive vice president, is on his way back to Mumbai from New Delhi’s North Block? Mum’s the word at North Block on the subject, but IDFC is getting ready for the return of the prodigal.