Raghuram Rajan wasn’t at his new job as governor of the Reserve Bank of India for more than 46 hours when he received a letter from a 10-year old girl named Laila Indira Alva. At the time of Rajan’s take over, the Indian government was struggling to control the rupee’s massive slide against the US Dollar. If everyone in India tried to help like Laila, India would be in good shape…
In Laila’s letter to Rajan she said: “I have heard about the crisis our economy is facing on the news. I have also heard about the fall of the rupee with respect to the dollar. I knew the economy was weak because of inflation and corruption. I read about it in the newspapers and I heard my parents talk about it at dinner and I heard about it on the news. That’s the only thing everyone was talking about.”
In that letter, Laila also included a $20 bill her parents gave her during a vacation in Israel a year ago. She enclosed the money and finished the letter with “the country needs it more than I do”. Well, a week later Laila received a letter back from the governonr of the Reserve Bank of India. Rajan said he was deeply touched by her gesture and assured her that the bank of India as strong enough reserves to protect the people. The letter also included her $20 she sent.
While Laila said it was “mean” he sent the money back, both Rajan and her mother assured her there are other ways she can help the country. Her nice gesture also got her a visit to Mumbai to meet Rajan. She’s done several interviews since than and has admitted she had no idea the impact her letter would have – she thought people send that kind of stuff to the RBI all the time. Like I said, if they did, India would be in great shape.
Image via BBC Delhi
