Reading the mint leaves: Shyamala Gopinath
Shyamala Gopinath has one of the toughest jobs going around - of managing the government's
burgeoning borrowings and also keeping an eye on the rupee.
Shyamala Gopinath
61, Deputy Governor, Reserve Bank of India
(New on BT's Most Powerful list)
She came to Mumbai from Bangalore close to four decades ago with her grandmother. She would ride a truck to reach downtown from the suburbs during the nationwide train strikes of the seventies.
Since then, Gopinath has written regulations, managed government debt, kept an eagle eye on the exchange rate, managed foreign exchange - and even done a cushy stint at the International Monetary Fund in 2001.
She came back to India two years later as Executive Director of the Reserve Bank- a well-timed move as the Indian economy was nearing a tipping point. "I wanted to be amidst the action," she says.
Today, Gopinath probably has one of the toughest jobs going around - of managing the government's burgeoning borrowings and also keeping an eye on the rupee, which has been appreciating against the US dollar and putting exporters in a spot. Gopinath is concerned, but not alarmed. "One can see the growth differential," she says, pointing to the widening gap in growth figures for the developed and the developing world. Also, the rupee's appreciation is an indicator that global liquidity is chasing India and other emerging markets.
If she is not alarmed, you should not be, either.
-Anand Adhikari
61, Deputy Governor, Reserve Bank of India
(New on BT's Most Powerful list)
She came to Mumbai from Bangalore close to four decades ago with her grandmother. She would ride a truck to reach downtown from the suburbs during the nationwide train strikes of the seventies.
Since then, Gopinath has written regulations, managed government debt, kept an eagle eye on the exchange rate, managed foreign exchange - and even done a cushy stint at the International Monetary Fund in 2001.
| Biggest achievement in 2010: Decides on market borrowings along with finance secretary; was given the important portfolio of 'payments and settlements' this August Being a powerful woman is important because: It encourages young women to emulate you Tip for work-life balance: Make a success of your life and not just career A workplace without women is: There is no concept of gender at the workplace |
Today, Gopinath probably has one of the toughest jobs going around - of managing the government's burgeoning borrowings and also keeping an eye on the rupee, which has been appreciating against the US dollar and putting exporters in a spot. Gopinath is concerned, but not alarmed. "One can see the growth differential," she says, pointing to the widening gap in growth figures for the developed and the developing world. Also, the rupee's appreciation is an indicator that global liquidity is chasing India and other emerging markets.
If she is not alarmed, you should not be, either.
-Anand Adhikari
The 30 Most Powerful Women | |
| 1. Schauna Chauhan 2. Zarin Daruwala 3. Lynn de Souza 4. Tanya Dubash 5. Shyamala Gopinath 6. Vinita Gupta 7. Kaku Nakhate 8. Vedika Bhandarkar 9. Manisha Girotra 10. Lalita Gupte 11. Usha Narayanan 12. Akhila Srinivasan 13. Leena Nair 14. Vinita Bali 15. Chanda Kochhar | 16. Roopa Kudva 17. Naina Lal Kidwai 18. Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw 19. Zarina Mehta 20. Zia Mody 21. Kalpana Morparia 22. Vishakha Mulye 23. Swati Piramal 24. Meher Pudumjee 25. Madhabi Puri Buch 26. Chitra Ramkrishna 27. Preetha Reddy 28. Shikha Sharma 29. Mallika Srinivasan 30. Sangeeta Talwar |
