"Time to Deliver Begins Now" -- Raghuram Rajan, Governor of the Reserve Bank of India

The Consulate General of India, New York, in collaboration with the India-America Chamber of Commerce, held an informative discussion with the Governor of the Reserve Bank of India, Raghuram Rajan on Wednesday, October 8, 2014 at the Consulate's Ballroom. In attendance were several prominent and influential Indian-American businessmen, engaged in finance and investment banking.

Consul General of India, New York, Ambassador Dnyaneshwar M Mulay, and President of India-America Chamber of Commerce Rajiv Khanna, gave brief introductions about the Governor before Mr Rajan spoke to the eager audience for thirty minutes, followed by an extensive Q&A session.

"Over the years, India has outgrown its institutions," Mr. Rajan said. "Such institutions only worked well when we had the practice of resource allocation, which was a source of revenue. This was a time when coal could be extracted from the ground with your bare hands". Our economy can no longer work with this model, he said, and just as there were drastic democratic changes that reacted to the economic slump in the past decade, institutions also have reacted. Mr Rajan emphasized on the need to convert talk about change into delivering and implementing reforms.

Mr. Rajan made three crucial recommendations to creating a more investment-friendly market in India: (1) stalled projects needed to get back on track, and that clearance granted at the capital should be effective on the ground; (2) the complex labor laws needed to be improved to benefit both employers and workers; and (3) promotion of self-certification to eliminate the stressful and cumbersome process of inspections.

Furthermore, outlining the major areas that require change and immediate implementation, Mr Rajan said now was a good time to invest in the Indian economy. Developing infrastructure, improving the quality of human capital, optimum regulation for good business, and extensive financial sector reform should be the next steps for improvement and development of the Indian economy. He encouraged the audience to get involved in the "nitty gritty of the implementation process" and that it was not difficult, especially given the Indian government has the political will to reform.

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