318. Just a Mercenary

BIC TALKS

At the start of his career as sub-collector of Parvathipuram sub-division in north-coastal Andhra Pradesh way back in 1974, Subbarao learnt – the hard way – that tribal development requires more than enthusiasm; it requires most of all an understanding of poverty.

Nearly forty years later, in 2013, as the governor of the Reserve Bank of India in the midst of a fierce exchange rate crisis, Subbarao learnt – once again the hard way – the harsh challenges of emerging economies in an unequal world.

Bookended by these assignments is the journey of a small-town boy from a modest background to the top echelons of India’s civil service and then on to the helm of the country’s central bank. Subbarao recounts that journey – his hopes and despair, his successes and setbacks, his mistakes and misdeeds, and the lessons he learnt along the way – with candour and honesty. The subtext of that story though is his constant soul searching about whether he has given back to society more than he received.

Just a Mercenary? is an earnest account of an extraordinary career that tries to inform and inspire young professionals trying to find their way up their career ladders – and find meaning in their journeys.

In this episode of BIC Talks, Former Governor, Reserve Bank of India - Duvvuri Subbarao is in conversation with Professor, Centre for Public Policy, IIM, Bangalore - M S Sriram. This is an excerpt from a conversation that took place in the BIC premises in June 2024.

Subscribe to the BIC Talks Podcast on your favorite podcast app! BIC Talks is available everywhere, including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Castbox, Overcast, Audible and Amazon Music.