organisational developments have been documented in a recent report on currency and finance for the year 2004 - 05, the theme of which was “ the evolution of central banking in india ”. today, i would like to highlight some recent developments and discuss certain issues of contemporary relevance relating to the evolving role of rbi. first, compared with several countries which introduced rapid reforms in central banking law and governance in the last about two decades, the indian experience reflects an evolution or adaptation of central banking to new economic realities. these changes were brought about both through some legislative measures and changes in operating procedures. second, this evolution has inter alia contributed to imparting some autonomy to the central bank, de facto, particularly in the areas of monetary management and financial regulation. third, in sharp contrast to the situation before 1991, since then, apart from a transparent communications policy and a broad based consultative approach to policy making, governors ’ speeches and appearances on the electronic media and the press have been substantial, having significant influence on markets and opinions. in the process, the rbi has gained reputational bonus and public credibility. fourth, thanks to related developments in the last 15 years, financial and external sectors in india have also become relatively more efficient and resilient. fifth, while the effectiveness of monetary policy has improved significantly to meet the evolving demands, some constraints are persisting, which impact the choice and effectiveness of our policy framework. in reviewing the evolving role of rbi, it is necessary to distinguish between an exclusive monetary authority and a generic central bank, which performs not only monetary functions, but also other functions, in particular, banking supervision. a recent survey by the bank for international settlements ( bis ) has shown that over sixty per cent of central banks across developed and developing countries have banking supervisor ’ s role exercised by a central bank. india has adopted a middle path. banking supervision continues to be with rbi, but it has been accorded a distinct semi - independent status. a board for financial supervision ( bfs ), a committee of the central board of rbi, was set up in 1994 and meets at least once a month to guide and oversee the rbi's supervisory functions. the bfs includes four independent members drawn from the central board of directors of rbi with relevant professional background and experience. while it is true that globally the general tendency recently has been to stress the independence or autonomy of central banks in general and monetary management in particular, this has been brought about by different countries in a variety of means : constitutional

to their energy consumption shares. it seems logical that a more significant share falls on firms since they are the largest ex ante consumers of energy. but the issue remains of the distribution of the burden between in particular the energy companies on the one hand and the other sectors on the other, starting with the most energy dependent. households cannot be completely and permanently exempted from their share in this distribution. this is not easy to say, and even less easy to do ; and it is essential to address the difficulties of the most disadvantaged, in particular households in rural areas who consume relatively more energy. so we need to quickly better target those who need it most. and we need to gradually but steadily reduce general support schemes which we cannot afford and do not give the right incentives over the long, or even medium, term. the government page 14 of 14 has rightly planned the first steps for the beginning of 2023, with the planned 15 % increases in gas and electricity tariffs and the end of the rebate on fuel prices, to be replaced by a fixed allocation of 100 euros targeted by income. * * let me conclude : i believe it is normal that the public sector has stepped in in france and in other european countries in the face of this very significant economic pain. but let us be at the same time be honest with ourselves, use of medications must be temporary. the goal of public policy in the medium term must be, after a transition period, to grapple with the world as it is and to overcome challenges that are not about to disappear. in the end, we all have to share with fairness the “ external tax ”, and also pave the way to reduce our vulnerability by saving energy and by enhancing our domestic production of energy. france has in the past decade made significant progress in a number of areas, notably employment and training. in the present shock, too, i am confident that we can emerge collectively stronger. i the macroeconomic impact of the terms of trade can be calculated as the difference between the [ relative ] growth rate of import and export deflators, weighted by the share of trade flows in nominal gdp.