central approval is embedded in the procedure for sale of state government securities, and therefore, cannot be violated. furthermore, state governments are not permitted to borrow externally, unlike the centre. the reserve bank plays two crucial roles in relation to the indian fiscal system, namely as the banker to and the debt manager of both central and state governments. the rbi act allows the rbi by agreement with a state government to undertake its banking operations and management of its public debt. while undertaking the role of banker for both the central and state governments, the rbi also provides temporary support to tide over mismatches in their receipts and payments in the form of ways and means advances ( wma ). the reserve bank has been organizing a biannual conference of state finance secretaries since november 1997. this conference, right from its inception, has provided a very useful forum for interaction among all the stakeholders ( state governments, central government and the reserve bank ) on matters related to state finances and arriving at consensual solutions for issues of policy and operational significance. among the areas that were deliberated, the more important one ’ s relate to fiscal responsibility legislations at state levels ; standardisation of budgetary, accounting and transparency practices ; cash management ; management of consolidated sinking fund and natural calamities fund ; evaluation of fiscal guarantees etc. the reserve bank is proactive and responds from time to time, to the needs of states, as evident from two recent moves. faced with accumulation of large surplus cash balances and a negative spread earned on the investment of such balances, some state governments had approached the reserve bank to arrange for the buy - back of their outstanding state development loans ( sdls ). accordingly, the reserve bank formulated a general scheme for the buy - back of sdls with the concurrence of the government of india. following the recommendations of the twelfth finance commission, external loans would be passed on to the states ( in rupee terms ) on a back - to - back basis. consequently, the state governments would now have to bear the foreign exchange risk in the context of such loans. again, at the behest of the state governments, the reserve bank recently organized a workshop on the management of foreign exchange risk, for the benefit of state government officials. the reserve bank interacts with states on several other fronts especially in regard to lending to agriculture, small industries, weaker sections, depositor protection, financial inclusion, financial literacy, responding to natural calamities etc. mainly through

jerome h powell : brief remarks on the us economy speech by mr jerome h powell, chairman of the board of governors of the federal reserve system, at rhode island business leaders day, washington dc, 27 september 2018. * * * good afternoon. thank you, senator reed, for the kind words and the opportunity to be a part of the annual rhode island business leaders day. and thank you, all, for sticking with the program for the last speaker of the day. the federal open market committee, the body within the federal reserve that sets monetary policy, just concluded a meeting yesterday. i plan to talk briefly about how my colleagues and i see the economy evolving and our role in keeping it healthy. importantly, i want to hear from you. i very much appreciate your views, as business people, of economic conditions where you live and work. and, of course, i will be happy to respond to questions. our economy is strong. growth is running at a healthy clip. unemployment is low, the number of people working is rising steadily, and wages are up. inflation is low and stable. all of these developments are very good signs. of course, that is not to say that everything is perfect. the benefits of this strong economy have not reached all americans. many of our countrya€™s economic challenges are beyond the scope of the fed, but we are doing all we can to keep the economy strong and moving forward. that is the best way we can promote an environment in which every american has the opportunity to succeed. each time we meet, we face the same question : how can we set monetary policy to best support job growth and low, steady inflation? for many years, this question called for very low interest rates to help an economy that had been damaged by the deep financial crisis that gripped the world 10 years ago. as the economy has steadily gained strength, the fed has been gradually returning interest rates closer to the levels that are normal in a healthy economy. we took another step on that path yesterday, with a quarter - point increase in short - term interest rates. these rates remain low, and my colleagues and i believe that this gradual return to normal is helping to sustain this strong economy for the longer - run benefit of all americans. as i mentioned, 10 years have now passed since the depths of the financial crisis a painful part of our history that cost many americans their jobs, their homes, and, for some, their hopes and dreams. in addition to holding interest