s conference provides us an opportunity to prepare for this untravelled road that lies ahead. thank you. speech delivered by michael debabrata patra, deputy governor, reserve bank of india in the conference on'bsr @ 50'organised by the bank on october 28, 2022 at mumbai. prescient comments from om prakash mall, valuable inputs received from rajendra raghumanda and dibyendu bhaumik and editorial help from vineet kumar srivastava are gratefully acknowledged. 3 / 4 bis - central bankers'speeches 2 for example, while the'uniform balance book ( ubb ) introduced in each bank office required monthly reporting of account - wise information in regard to credit limits sanctioned and advances outstanding according to the type of account, type of borrower, occupation, purpose, security, and rate of interest charged, it had to be supplemented by ( i ) annual survey on purpose - wise distribution of bank advances ; ( ii ) half - yearly survey of interest rates on deposits and advances ; and ( iii ) mid - monthly survey on security - wise classification of bank advances. 3 the banking companies ( acquisition and transfer of undertakings ) act, 1970. 4 report of the committee on banking statistics ( chairman : a. raman ), rbi, august 1972. the bsr system replaced the ubb system and other regular and ad hoc reportings by banks to the rbi. 4 / 4 bis - central bankers'speeches

while people ’ s faith in the currency is an essential precondition for successful monetary policy, organising public lectures on religion may seem a little farfetched. however, allow me to reassure you that ben has also published over 150 academic articles on monetary policy, macroeconomics and financial markets. he is therefore a most logical candidate to give the karl brunner distinguished lecture, even on a topic that may seem unusual at first sight. born in louisville, kentucky, benjamin friedman went to harvard university with the intention of studying law, but soon realised that economics suited him better. he pursued his studies at harvard and at cambridge university in england. early in his career, ben worked for various entities of the federal reserve system and at morgan stanley. in 1972, at the age of 25, he was appointed assistant professor of economics at harvard university. ben has remained a loyal faculty member at harvard for five decades, including a three - year spell as the chairman of the economics department. page 2 / 4 when ben recently celebrated 50 years as a professor at harvard, many of his former students travelled from all around the world to attend the occasion. the interaction with his students has been of utmost importance to ben, and he would remain in contact with them for decades following their graduation. a number of these former students today occupy leading positions in academia, central banking and government. this shows that ben has been not only an outstanding researcher, but also an influential teacher of economics. spending 50 years in the same place is not as unusual as one might think, at least not when we consider some of the great enlightenment thinkers ben so deeply admires. take immanuel kant, who developed his philosophy without ever leaving his hometown of konigsberg. according to legend, kant became such an integral part of the city that people would set their watch by the time he left his house for his afternoon walk. whether ben ’ s daily routines have the same effect on the people in cambridge, massachusetts, we do not know. what we do know is that, fortunately for us, ben is not quite as averse to travelling as kant was. most importantly, he lets his mind travel, exploring not only the world of economics but many other disciplines as well. but let me say a few more words about ben ’ s contributions to monetary economics. his research covers all aspects of monetary policy. it spans everything from the technical details of how central banks steer short - term interest rates in money markets to fundamental questions about the mandate