as you have just seen in the film clip, over the past one year, we celebrated the platinum jubilee in diverse ways. the flagship of our celebrations, one which will possibly have the most enduring value, has been the outreach programme. the outreach programme was focussed on taking forward the twin pillars of financial inclusion and financial literacy. the motivation behind this venture was for the rbi, as an institution, to connect with ordinary people of the country. the odyssey took all of us, our deputy governors, executive directors and myself, to villages across the country, typically off - main road, away from urban influence, unbanked villages, to see and understand how grassroots institutions – self - help women ’ s groups, micro - finance institutions, non - government organizations, rural cooperatives, rural branches of regional and mainstream commercial banks – operate, and to listen first - hand to the hopes and aspirations of village india. in return, we also got an opportunity to explain to people what the reserve bank does, and how what we do touches their everyday life. 11. i can claim, indeed i do so with pride, that we visited at least one village in every state of the country and most union territories. given that india has over 600, 000 habitations, our coverage was admittedly miniscule. even so, it has been a wonderful experience – intellectually rewarding, emotionally fulfilling and professionally mind - expanding. 12. during my own outreach visits to villages in several states, i was impressed by the self - confidence of self - help group women, the enthusiasm of rural girls for education and their growing aspirations for a better quality of life. in many ways, the outreach programme has been a reality check on the design and implementation of the reserve bank ’ s policies, and it has reinforced our institutional commitment to addressing the challenge and opportunity of financial inclusion. 13. as part of the outreach programme, we also conducted quiz contests and debating competitions in schools and colleges in various parts of the country to spread the message of financial literacy and to explain the role and responsibilities of the reserve bank. in addition, the top management of the reserve bank participated in a couple of town hall events that were aired on television, fielding questions from ordinary people. the idea once again was to understand the concerns of india ’ s growing middle class, and in turn demystify the reserve bank to them. challenges on the way forward 14. a platinum jubilee is a chronological milestone, an occasion for celebration ; but it

hand views from governor ’ s interactions in various multilateral fora on global developments and outlook, and the implications of global spillovers for the indian economy and for the setting of monetary policy. in hindsight, these insights turned out to be invaluable. in a situation in which several emes were jumping on to the bandwagon of tightening monetary policy and aes were announcing normalisation or joining their emes in raising policy rates, india held its ground and is among a few countries that have retained an accommodative monetary policy 7, despite some views that we have fallen behind the curve. only time will tell whether or not india has got it right but so far, this approach has served us well and helped in charting a course into the future which is different from the world. conclusion in the hallowed tradition of central banks, the rbi as an institution shuns the glare of the limelight, preferring to remain unglorified and grounded. yet when the chips are down and crises loom, it rises up from the depths that it inhabits and flings itself at the gathering storm. when the job is done, the recovery secured and macroeconomic and financial stability ensured, it falls back, usually unsung, but always on guard. the pandemic continues to shape the future, but the rbi remains armed and battle ready. continuously evaluating highly volatile and uncertain conditions and remaining prepared to protect the economy from shocks, the rbi has committed all its instruments to this objective, using conventional measures and fashioning new ones, as the pandemic experience showed. the lessons of the pandemic will be imbibed and the rbi will emerge stronger and more resilient than before, and committed to its mandate of price stability, keeping in mind the objective of growth. in fact, the statement of december 8, 2021 states that “ our motto is to ensure a soft landing that is well - timed. ”