Being a finance secretary is a lot different from being the governor. But more specific issue, did I put pressure on Governor Reddy by myself or as a messenger for Mr Chidambaram? I don’t think I put pressure. But I did act differently in the Reserve Bank and as finance secretary.

For example, on exchange rate, certainly we would tell Dr Reddy, our view on the exchange rate, but there is very fine distinction between communicating your view and putting pressure.

Finance minister is in a position to put pressure, since he’s got leverage. The finance secretary doesn’t have much leverage. So I wasn’t putting pressure. But I was certainly communicating some unpleasant decisions on behalf of the government to Dr Reddy. And I was also involved in managing some of the skirmishes between the finance minister and the governor, between the government of India and the Reserve Bank. But there was no crossing the border and putting pressure.

One of the big drivers of inflation was the fiscal problem and we used to point it out. We used to talk to the finance minister and the prime minister about it. But there’s a point beyond which you cannot go. What else can you do? You cannot shout from the rooftop that the government is the sinner. So the inflation problem was attributed to the RBI, although not all the factors driving inflation were in the control of the Reserve Bank.

I can’t say we will not have another crisis. I don’t think there are unknown unknowns today like there were in 2008. There are known unknowns. To that extent I think a Lehman-type moment is unlikely, but a crisis is certainly possible.