New Delhi, Dec. 7 -- "Baptism by fire," is how D. Subbarao had described his initial months as the 22nd governor of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). Subbarao took charge in September 2008 in the shadow of the collapse of investment bank Lehman Brothers that led to the 2008-09 Global Financial Crisis and brought the world economy to its knees. In hindsight, his baptism was a relatively brief affair. Coordinated action by central banks saw the world economy recovering by mid-2009.

Contrast that with the trials of Sanjay Malhotra, appointed the 26th governor of RBI on 9 December 2024. Thanks to the shenanigans of the 47th President of the United States, Donald Trump, there seems to be no end to Governor Malhotra's 'baptism by fire'!

Just d...