Five months on, those initial concerns have dissipated as the country’s new leaders have had a chance to lay out their policies. The finance minister Palaniappan Chidambaram scored an immediate hit when he declared: “I consider myself minister for investment” and raised foreign investment limits in telecoms, aviation and insurance. Other key players have a wealth of experience in banking, finance and in introducing reforms. Even Sitaram Yechuri, a member of the politburo of the Communist Party of India (Marxist), on which Congress depends for support, is taking a pragmatic line these days by not opposing foreign investment or privatisation as a matter of course. Below, The Banker profiles India’s movers and shakers and the progress they have made.
Dr Manmohan Singh Prime Minister
Palaniappan Chidambaram Finance Minister
Montek Singh Ahluwalia Deputy Chairman, Planning Commission
Sitaram Yechuri Member, Politburo, Communist Party of India (Marxist)
Yaga Venugupal Reddy Governor, Reserve Bank of India
Ghyanendra Nath Bajpai Chairman, Securities and Exchange Board of India
Arun Kumar Purwar Chairman and Managing Director, State Bank of India
K Vaman Kamath Managing Director and CEO, ICICI Bank
Deepak Parekh Executive Chairman, Housing Development Finance Corporation
Meelivitayil Damodaran Chairman and Managing Director, Industrial Development Bank of India