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Asia-PacificOctober 3 2004

The Magnificent ten

India’s current government and finance scene includes an energetic, forward-thinking and pragmatic team. Kala Rao profiles the 10 key decision-makers. When, against the odds, the Congress party triumphed in India’s national elections in May, the country’s stock market nosedived. Investors feared that state intervention and meddling would come back into fashion, interest rates would rise and prospects for economic growth would diminish. In short, India’s reform process would move quickly into reverse.
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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

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Read more about:  Asia-Pacific , India