flow from information about the Indian Banking System, to sub issues within the topic of Corporate Governance, to the significance of Financial Inclusion, and finally to the importance of Public Sector Banks and NBFCs in providing financial services and inclusive growth. The comprehensive understanding of the past, present and the future of the Banking Sector is provided through detailed essays written by stalwarts like C Rangarajan, Chanda Kochhar( MD & CEO ICICI Bank), A. Zainul bhai( MD India, McKinsey & Company), Subir Gokarn( Former Deputy Governor, RBI), M. V. Nair( Former Chairman & MD, Union Bank of India), K. C. Chakrabarty( Deputy Governor, RBI) etc. They give us an overview of the learnings from the past decade, and apply the same in showing how a strong financial future can be built, in which practical understanding from their experience can be easily detected. In the section of Corporate Governance, D Subbarao( Governor, RBI) and Jaspal Bindra( CEO, Standard Chartered PLC Asia Operations) focus on the importance of human capital building at the top most positions in order to build a strong future. This debate is then extended to discuss the implications of implementing Basel III on the Banking Sector and the entire Indian economy. The two relatively different topics, one of human capital, and another of capital adequacy standards have been explained together in order to allow the reader to understand the intricacies of the sector and the requirement for a stable governance during the transition stage.
With the palpable gloom and despondency in the air due to the challenging times for the global and Indian economy,“ Contemporary Banking in India” is just the right book to read if one wants to take a proactive approach to understanding how the banking system can be leveraged to bring about positive developments in the growth of the economy. The book gives many thought provoking views from relevant industry professionals, which are sublimely levelled in terms of prior knowledge required to understand them. Anyone from a nonbanking background can easily understand the arguments put forward by these eminent writers, but prior knowledge of the same would help in critically analyzing their views, since there are no counter arguments put across for any of them. It could be that everyone agrees on the same principles of reforms, be it policy makers or followers, but that only brings one question to mind – why have more efforts not been put forth to implement some of these ideas. Be that as it were, the book is a brilliant read for anyone who is remotely interested in understanding the subtle implications of the monetary policies put forth, and their colossal impact on an entire nation ' s growth. Naina Lal Kidwai has done a brilliant job in inviting essays from the best of contributors, and the editing of the book is superb as it captures perfectly the essence of the Banking Sector, and its colossal importance to the Indian Economy.
104