No magic wand but will fix Indian economy: next RBI boss Rajan

To succeed D Subbarao on Sept 5 as RBI governor, Raghuram Rajan gets thumbs up from industry

srishti

Srishti Pandey | August 6, 2013


Raghuram Rajan expected to toe the government`s line, unlike outgoing RBI governor Subbarao.
Raghuram Rajan expected to toe the government`s line, unlike outgoing RBI governor Subbarao.

Appointed as the next Reserve Bank of India (RBI) governor, Raghuram Rajan on Tuesday assured that challenges facing the Indian economy will be dealt with, and that the economy will return to a positive growth track soon.

There is no "magic wand" to fix India's economic problems but there is “no doubt that we'll fix them”, Rajan, appointed for a term of three years, said while addressing the media.

“It’s a great honour to be appointed the next RBI governor. I am looking forward to working here,” Rajan said.

ALSO READ: Importance of being Raghuram Rajan, redux

At present the chief economic advisor to the government, Rajan will assume his new charge on September 5, a day after the present apex bank governor, D Subbarao, retires.

Giving thumbs up to the appointment, Vipul Jhaveri, partner with consultancy services firm Deloitte, said: "I had expected his appointment since he was the strongest contender for the post. Unlike the present governor, who had different views on certain economic policies, Rajan's views are more in line with the government's. This, I hope, will prove beneficial to the economy and will streamline the decision-making process."

According to a statement issued by the finance ministry, “(The) prime minister has approved the appointment of Dr Raghuram Rajan as the governor of Reserve Bank of India for a term of three years. Dr D Subbarao will be completing his tenure on September 4.”

Speculations regarding the next RBI governor had set the grapevines abuzz after Subbarao expressed his desire to “move on” instead of agreeing to an extended term, which the government was hoping for. Apart from Rajan, the other names emerging for the top post at the central bank were those of Arvind Mayaram, the secretary in department of economic affairs, planning commission member Saumitra Chaudhuri and RBI deputy governor Urjit Patel.

Rajan and Mayaram were seen as the strongest contenders considering their proximity to the finance ministry and have been making attempts to provide the requisite fillip to the economy.

Rajan, a former IMF chief economist, is known for his in-depth knowledge in the field of finance and economics and his supporters see him as someone who could bring in bold and innovative reforms, an important requirement when the economy is sailing through troubled waters.

He was appointed the chief economic advisor to the government a few days after P Chidambaram became the finance minister last year.

In his new role, the first and foremost challenge Rajan will have to overcome is to stabilise the rupee, which recently hit an all-time low of below 61 to a dollar, besides solving the problem of non-performing assets (NPA) in banks and boosting their lending activities.

Comments

 

Other News

Report of India’s G20 Task Force on Digital Public Infrastructure released

The final ‘Report of India’s G20 Task Force on Digital Public Infrastructure’ by ‘India’s G20 Task Force on Digital Public Infrastructure for Economic Transformation, Financial Inclusion and Development’ was released in New Delhi on Monday. The Task Force was led by the

How the Great War of Mahabharata was actually a world war

Mahabharata: A World War By Gaurang Damani Sanganak Prakashan, 317 pages, Rs 300 Gaurang Damani, a Mumbai-based el

Budget expectations, from job creation to tax reforms…

With the return of the NDA to power in the recently concluded Lok Sabha elections, all eyes are now on finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s full budget for the FY 2024-25. The interim budget presented in February was a typical vote-on-accounts, allowing the outgoing government to manage expenses in

How to transform rural landscapes, design 5G intelligent villages

Futuristic technologies such as 5G are already here. While urban users are reaping their benefits, these technologies also have a potential to transform rural areas. How to unleash that potential is the question. That was the focus of a workshop – “Transforming Rural Landscape:

PM Modi visits Rosatom Pavilion at VDNKh in Moscow

Prime minister Narendra Modi, accompanied by president Vladimir Putin, visited the All Russian Exhibition Centre, VDNKh, in Moscow Tuesday. The two leaders toured the Rosatom Pavilion at VDNKh. The Rosatom pavilion, inaugurated in November 2023, is one of the largest exhibitions on the histo

Let us pledge to do what we can for environment: President

President Droupadi Murmu on Monday morning spent some time at the sea beach of the holy city of Puri, a day after participating in the annual Rath Yatra. Later she penned her thoughts about the experience of being in close commune with nature. In a message posted on X, she said:

Visionary Talk: Amitabh Gupta, Pune Police Commissioner with Kailashnath Adhikari, MD, Governance Now


Archives

Current Issue

Opinion

Facebook Twitter Google Plus Linkedin Subscribe Newsletter

Twitter