shyamala gopinath : human development and state finances - some thoughts speech by ms shyamala gopinath, deputy governor of the reserve bank of india, at the programme on human development and state finances ( jointly organised by the reserve bank of india and the undp ) at the college of agricultural banking, pune, 4 april 2005. the assistance of h r khan, c p mohan and partha ray in preparation of the speech is gratefully acknowledged. * * * it gives me great pleasure to be here on the occasion of the first programme on " human development and state finances " being jointly organised by the undp and the rbi with the support of the planning commission. the undp, ever since its inception in 1965, and the other un organisations before that, have been actively involved in the development priorities of developing countries like ours over the last five decades. they have gained insights and understanding of our economy and polity which will substantially help in achieving our goals of growth with equity, dignified life for all our people and in our pursuit of reforms with a human face. as all of us are well aware, the government of india is irrevocably and unequivocally committed to the attainment of the millennium development goals ( mdg ). in fact, the progress that will be achieved by india, home to about one sixth of the world's population, will take the entire mankind much nearer to the mdg. this is because india accounts for significant proportions of the under privileged and marginised sections of the world with almost one third of the global rural poor living in india. yet, our economy is poised at a point of take off, where our achievements can be accelerated. i believe that we have reached a stage in our development process, wherein we have gathered critical momentum to achieve far more in the next 10 - 15 years than we have done in the last 55 years. what have been the contours of human development? what have been our achievements in india? how is state finance related to it? let me in the present address look into some of these questions. contours of human development let me begin with a brief look at the concept of human development. while doing so, i have a confession to make. i am no expert of the vast discipline concerning human development. nevertheless, as a common citizen i believe that issues relating to human development concern us all. hence, with some trepidation i approach the issue. how

andreas dombret : mediating between worlds – eight years at the bundesbank speech by dr andreas dombret, member of the executive board of the deutsche bundesbank until 30 april 2018, at the farewell reception, frankfurt am main, 4 may 2018. * * * ladies and gentlemen how time flies. it was mid - april 2010 : i was eight years younger than i am today, my hair was far less grey, and i was wearing shorts. i was enjoying a short break on majorca when someone from the secretariat of the then bundesbank president axel weber called to say i should collect something of a personal nature from the german consulate in palma. naturally, i complied with the request, but with hindsight i was quite unprepared for what lay in store. and that was how i received the certificate appointing me to the bundesbank ’ s executive board under a german flag, dressed in a polo shirt and shorts … that was back in the spring of 2010. but as you know, form follows function. so i swapped my shorts for a suit and tie, and made my way, in great anticipation, to the bundesbank. being a trained banker – i am touched and grateful to see that the current ceos of every bank i have ever worked for are here in this room : christian sewing from deutsche bank, dorothee blessing from jp morgan, martin reitz from rothschild and armin von falkenhayn from bank of america – as i said, being a trained banker, i always imagined that a central bank would surely be a bit like a commercial bank in one way or another. as you can imagine, i was in for a surprise – and, as it quickly turned out, a pleasant one at that. if there is one thing i have learned these last eight years, it is that central banks are not the same as commercial banks. and i mean that in a positive sense. that is because of the mandate which central banks follow and which commits them to serving the common good. another thing that quickly caught my eye eight years ago was how intensely bundesbankers dedicate themselves to the matter in hand. “ professional goals trump personal progress ” is the motto here, and i must say i felt right at home with that modus operandi from day one. the same goes for traditional german economics which, as you all know, is geared to stability and based on rules. that tradition has been my constant companion throughout