Just a Mercenary?

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 remarkable 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 rare 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.