careful planning of growth and funding needs is a key aspect of sound management and requires the appropriate degree of management attention. conclusion the past year was a good year for the industry, one in which banks were able to adapt to a changing environment and still generate record profits. community banks once again demonstrated their value to the marketplace and the prominent and vibrant position they rightly occupy in the industry. the industry is strong and resilient, but we should not gauge the industry's ability to withstand and adapt to challenges solely on the basis of what happened in 2003. as we reflect on this banner year, it will serve us well to bear in mind that the credit and business challenges the industry faced in recent years were certainly not as difficult as they might have been - and indeed may yet be at some point in the future. asset quality certainly was an issue in this credit cycle, but never approached the levels experienced in the early 1990s. similarly, a low - interest rate environment, together with a steep yield curve, can provide a forgiving setting for bankers, at least in the near term. to paraphrase the old adage, those who do not learn all of the lessons of history are destined to repeat them. once again, the fundamental management challenge is to balance the opportunities of the present with the prospects for the future.

, touch on the ethical dimensions of rbi ’ s mandate. the reserve bank has a broad mandate. as central banks go, i believe we are a “ full service ” central bank. we are the monetary authority, we issue currency, we are the regulator of banks and non - bank finance companies and much of the financial markets. we regulate also the payment and settlement system. we are the debt manager for the central and state governments and the gatekeeper for the external sector. what guides us in fulfilling this broad mandate is a sense of institutional values and professional integrity. let me give a few examples. one of the core aims of monetary policy is to maintain price stability. if we fail in that regard, there would be inflation. and inflation, as we know, is a perniciously regressive tax that hurts the poor the most. so, by maintaining price stability, we are safeguarding the well being of the poor in society. we take our regulation responsibility seriously. an important guideline for regulation is to protect the interests of depositors. we therefore ensure that banks are well capitalized, prudently managed and that they have adequate and appropriate internal controls. our regulatory responsibility also casts an obligation on us of protecting the interests of the borrowers. we need to ensure that borrowers get credit at remunerative rates of interest and that they are not disadvantaged by information asymmetries. we advise banks not to charge excessive / usurious rates of interest on non - priority sector personal loans and credit card dues. we have asked that banks should communicate publically information on the maximum interest chargeable to any type of loan or advance. we have mandated that service charges should be reasonable and have some relation to the cost of rendering the services. we have a system of banking ombudsman to address the grievances of customers. i cannot claim that we are the best practice in dispute resolution, but i can claim with pride that we try our best to be the best practice. in recent years, we have been focussing on financial inclusion and financial literacy. the aim of the financial inclusion campaign is to provide access to financial services to people in remote and rural areas and poorer segments of the society. our stress is on expanding the reach of financial services to ensure that every household has a bank account. but the aspiration extends, beyond merely chasing a target, to the quality of financial inclusion. not only should the poor have an account, but they should also be