Raghuram Rajan says cynicism slowing down decision making process

Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Raghuram Rajan has called for purposeful and effective action to counter the atmosphere of cynicism, which has slowed down the decision making process.

"We are going through a period of great cynicism about what India can do. That cynicism does not just permeate the foreign press and their audiences, but also infects our domestic debate. Every policy is greeted with suspicion and scrutinised for evidence of malfeasance. With no upside to making decisions, it is no wonder that decision making has slowed. The solution, however, cannot come through inaction but through action, action that is, and is seen to be, purposeful, unbiased, and effective," he said while addressing the BANCON 2013 in Mumbai on Friday.

Rajan further said there would be mistakes, but if the weight of clean actions builds up, the suspicion that pervades in the society will ebb.

Referring to five pillars of the financial sector policy of the central bank, Rajan said in the next few weeks measures will be announced to incentivise banks for early detection of bad loans and better resolution and fair recovery of non-performing assets.

For the benefit of customers, he said the RBI has set up committees, like the B Sambamurthy Committee, to advise it on how to expand mobile banking in India through encrypted SMS-based funds transfer in any type of handset.