How RBI's communication has evolved

From keeping pace with changes in central bank communications worldwide, it has now taken a leap and added digital channels to its repertoire

- AMOL AGRAWAL

THE RESERVE BANK of India's (RBI) communications have entered a new era. It first launched a webseries (RBI Unlocked) in 2025, followed by a podcast (RBI Talks: From Paisa to Policy) in 2026. For a student of financial history, it is quite incredible to take note of the innovations made by the RBI and other central banks to enhance their communications.

For most parts of their history, central banks were seen as quaint organisations led by mysterious individuals. Montagu Norman, governor of Bank of England (1920-44), famously said: "Never explain, never excuse." His words were echoed later by Federal Reserve chairperson Alan Greenspan (1987-2006), who quipped, "If I seem unduly clear to you, you must have misunderstood what I said." Having said that, the design of a central bank is such that it has to communicate its policies. The question is whetherit does so silently or openly. In their earlier avatar, central banks communicated silently by releasing multiple reports― annual reports,bulletins, macroeconomic and financial data, economic research, and so on. They also played a silent role as their job was limited to maintaining the fixed exchange rate. In 1971, the fixed exchange rate system collapsed followed by a significant rise in inflation. These dual pressures shifted the central banking consensus towards targeting inflation and letting exchange rates be market-driven.