complex financial systems. they are already testing their business continuity plans ( bcp ) and creating awareness among their staff. several committees / task forces have been set up to look into issues like business, legal, human resources, payment system, currency management, communications, health / hygiene and security. several large global financial institutions also have advanced preparations, as do providers of payment services, mainly by establishing alternative sites, and recovery task forces. they have a senior crisis management team in place to plan for the contingency. in fact, the imf has rightly emphasized that financial institutions must have bcps that do not focus only on a single, short - lived event ( imf, 2006 ). in fact, i would say that actions at country level may not be sufficient and regional and global coordination, therefore, will remain essential as well. coordination efforts already made by various regions and regional organisations of the world, as well as the support provided by the un system are praiseworthy. during the crisis itself, authorities will have a number of potential roles to play. one major job for authorities is acting as a focal point for communication in a variety of areas like ( i ) receiving information from market participants on the extent of disruption and on the business continuity measures taken that may affect other participants, ( ii ) acting as a point of liaison between financial markets and the wider government emergency response, and perhaps also with utilities and telecommunications providers, ( iii ) providing information to the market and to the public on the functioning of markets and systems ( both financial and non - financial ). cross - border communication, in fact, becomes even more important than before because of the global nature of the event. because of this central role, it would be better if communication methods are robust enough to take care of potential disruption to staffing and physical infrastructure and are equipped with multiple communication channels available. if there are disruptions to trading and communications infrastructure, ad hoc solutions may be needed in order to allow smooth process of necessary transactions and maintaining critical operations. in this context, i would like to cite some instances in our country where the central bank, other regulatory authorities and government have jointly handled the contingencies successfully. for instance, there was the beginning of a panic run on a bank in 2003 led by a baseless rumour at one particular place of the country. the reserve bank immediately clarified that the bank had sufficient liquidity and arranged to provide adequate cash to that bank to meet the demands of its customers and helped that

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