Duvvuri Subbarao (born 11 August 1949) is an Indian economist, central banker and retired IAS officer. He served as the 22nd Governor of the

Reserve Bank of India Reserve Bank of India, abbreviated as RBI, is the central bank of the Republic of India, and regulatory body responsible for regulation of the Indian banking system and Indian rupee, Indian currency. Owned by the Ministry of Finance (India), Min ...

(RBI) from September 2008 to September 2013, with an extension in 2011, under

Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

Dr.Manmohan Singh. After stepping down from the RBI, he became a Distinguished Visiting Fellow, first at the

National University of Singapore The National University of Singapore (NUS) is a national university, national Public university, public research university in Singapore. It was officially established in 1980 by the merging of the University of Singapore and Nanyang University ...

and later at the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (Penn or UPenn) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. One of nine colonial colleges, it was chartered in 1755 through the efforts of f ...

Early life

Subbarao was born in Eluru in the West Godavari district of

Andhra Pradesh Andhra Pradesh (ISO 15919, ISO: , , AP) is a States and union territories of India, state on the East Coast of India, east coast of southern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, seventh-largest state and th ...

. He attended Sainik School in Korukonda,

from 1962–65. He then completed a BSc Honours program in Physics at the Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur in 1969. He also completed an MSc in Physics at the Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur. Subbarao passed the Civil Services Examination in 1972 and was assigned to the

cadre of the 1972 batch of the

Indian Administrative Service The Indian Administrative Service (IAS) is the Public administration, administrative arm of the All India Services of Government of India. The IAS is one of the three All India Services along with the Indian Police Service (IPS) and the Indian ...

(IAS). From 1977–78, Subbarao took study leave to earn a master's degree in economics at

Ohio State University The Ohio State University (Ohio State or OSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio, United States. A member of the University System of Ohio, it was founded in 1870. It is one ...

. During 1982–83, he was a Humphrey Fellow at MIT, where he studied public finance. In 1988, he received a PhD in economics from

Andhra University Andhra University is a public university located in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh, India. It was established in 1926. It is graded as an A++ institution by NAAC receiving a score of 3.74 on a scale of 4. History King Vikram Deo Verma, the Mah ...

. His doctoral thesis was titled "Fiscal reforms at the sub-national level."

Career

Subbarao's early career included field postings in

. As collector of the

Khammam District Khammam district is a district in the eastern region of the Indian state of Telangana. The city of Khammam is the district headquarters. The district shares boundaries with Suryapet district, Suryapet, Mahabubabad district, Mahabubabad, Bhadra ...

of Andhra Pradesh in 1979, he implemented the land transfer regulation, which primarily involved restoring land to tribal households that had lost it due to indebtedness, as stipulated by protective legislation. As managing director of the Andhra Pradesh State Finance Corporation (1986–88), he encouraged first-generation entrepreneurs to invest in the industry and service sectors. Subbarao was on deputation to the

government of India The Government of India (ISO 15919, ISO: Bhārata Sarakāra, legally the Union Government or Union of India or the Central Government) is the national authority of the Republic of India, located in South Asia, consisting of States and union t ...

as a joint secretary in the Ministry of Finance, where he helped formulate and implement the 1991 reforms. From 1993–98, he was the Finance Secretary to the Government of Andhra Pradesh. He contributed to the state government's decision to publish a white paper (1996) on state finances, which garnered popular support for economically difficult reforms. From 1999 to 2004, he worked as a lead economist at the

World Bank The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and Grant (money), grants to the governments of Least developed countries, low- and Developing country, middle-income countries for the purposes of economic development ...

, where he promoted public expenditure reforms in developing countries. He also managed the

's study on decentralization in East Asia. Upon returning to India from the World Bank, he was appointed to the Prime Ministers' Economic Advisory Council (2005–07) before becoming the Finance Secretary in 2007. On 5 September 2008, he was appointed Governor of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), becoming the first serving civil servant and the first person born after Independence to be appointed as central bank Governor. Arun Ramanathan was appointed as Finance Secretary on 21 September 2008, filling Subbarao's vacancy. Subbarao's term was extended for two years in 2011.

Achievements

As Finance Secretary to the

Government of India The Government of India (ISO 15919, ISO: Bhārata Sarakāra, legally the Union Government or Union of India or the Central Government) is the national authority of the Republic of India, located in South Asia, consisting of States and union t ...

, Subbarao questioned the allocation of valuable spectrum to telecom operators in 2007 at prices fixed in 2001, arguing for fresh bidding to determine the current price. Subbarao testified in the CBI case regarding alleged corruption by ministers and civil servants in the allocation of 2G spectrum, and the judge noted his testimony in the judgement. Subbarao's term as Governor of the RBI coincided with a turbulent period for the world and India. The

2008 financial crisis The 2008 financial crisis, also known as the global financial crisis (GFC), was a major worldwide financial crisis centered in the United States. The causes of the 2008 crisis included excessive speculation on housing values by both homeowners ...

began shortly after he assumed office. As the impact of the crisis on India diminished, efforts shifted to combating inflation (2009–11), which transitioned into addressing a sharp depreciation of the rupee due to taper tantrums. Subbarao is generally credited with guiding the Indian economy through the 2008 financial crisis, although some criticize his handling of the rupee's fall during the taper tantrums. Subbarao's tenure as Governor of the RBI included efforts related to maintaining the central bank's autonomy. His term is also noted for his efforts to demystify the

central bank A central bank, reserve bank, national bank, or monetary authority is an institution that manages the monetary policy of a country or monetary union. In contrast to a commercial bank, a central bank possesses a monopoly on increasing the mo ...

, open communication channels with stakeholders, and outreach to the public. He helped ensure financial inclusion in the Ernakulam district of

Kerala Kerala ( , ) is a States and union territories of India, state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile ...

. Subbarao is known for his theory of the New Trilemma of central bankers, referring to the "Holy Trinity" of ''price stability'', ''financial stability'', and ''sovereign debt sustainability'' as opposed to the well-known " impossible trinity" of the Mundell's of a ''fixed exchange rate'', ''free capital flows'', and ''independent monetary policy''. Subbarao's exposition of the ''holy trinity'' has established the Indian perspective in the debate on the global central banking trilemma.

Personal life

He is married to Urmila Subbarao.

Works

Subbarao's book, "''Who Moved My Interest Rate?: Leading the Reserve Bank of India Through Five Turbulent Years"'', was published in July 2016. In 2024, he published his autobiography entitled, "''Just A Mercenary?: Notes from My Life and Career''."

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Subbarao, Duvvuri 1948 births Indian Administrative Service officers Living people Governors of the Reserve Bank of India Sainik School alumni IIT Kanpur alumni IIT Kharagpur alumni Andhra University alumni Ohio State University Graduate School alumni People from Eluru Businesspeople from Andhra Pradesh Scientists from Andhra Pradesh 20th-century Indian economists 21st-century Indian economists Reserve Bank of India