Monetary policy discourse

“Monetary policy announcements are associated with frissons of animated speculation rippling through public discourse,” RBI Deputy Governor MD Patra said at the recent High-Level Policy Conference of Central Banks in the Global South, organised by the RBI in Mumbai. He observed that projections are revised, and the balance of risks are re-tilted.

Shadow monetary policy committees take positions in print and in sound bytes. “Curve fitting the central bank commences — is it behind the curve? — and accordingly, bird-like postures are conjured to characterise its angle of repose. Markets get poised to reprice, and financial institutions reassess interest margins,” Patra said.

The Deputy Governor noted that depositors and businesses exert conflicting pulls on public opinion. Questions rent the air on the likelihood of rate movements, by how much, and on shifts in stance.

Perks of owning a team

Owning a team in the Tamil Nadu Cricket Association (TNCA) can help an owner in a big way. A little bird says even a team in the fifth league is entitled to 25 tickets for every match at a concessional rate held at the MA Chidambaram stadium. Some owners do not distribute these concessional tickets but sell them off. Every owner gets ₹20,000 for each league match which the team can use for food, snacks and beverages, including cool drinks, for its players. Some teams even use this money for net practice. Owners can even lease their clubs to others for a cost, which could be in the range of ₹2 lakh to ₹10 lakh, depending on the division the club is placed in.

Vice President’s swipe

Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar’s critique of the government’s failure to address farmers’ issues lays bare an uncomfortable irony. While India shines on the global stage, its farmers — who form the backbone of the economy — continue to battle unfulfilled promises and neglect. Drawing parallels to Sardar Patel’s unification efforts, Dhankhar warned against testing their patience, cautioning that no force can suppress the voice of the farmer without dire consequences.

Going overboard

Over the last few days, all one heard in Telangana was about the successful completion of the first year of #PrajaPalana — the theme of the Revanth Reddy-led Congress government. Not only the Chief Minister but all his party members were talking about it. Apart from launches and re-launches of various schemes, they harped about the initiatives that were taken by the government.

Even social media was agog, with the government’s key achievements.