Raghuram Rajan successor: Govt cuts RBI governor shortlist to 4

The government has whittled down its list of candidates to become the next governor of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to four, three of whom are economists and veterans of the central bank with the other the head of the country’s largest bank. [caption id=“attachment_2846996” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan. PTI[/caption] A senior government official said the four were: RBI Deputy Governor Urjit Patel; former deputy governors Rakesh Mohan and Subir Gokarn; and State Bank of India Chair Arundhati Bhattacharya. Two government officials also said that outgoing Governor Raghuram Rajan was expected to join the search committee to appoint three external members of a new six-member RBI Monetary Policy Committee. The objective, these officials said on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the matter, was to ensure that the MPC is constituted as soon as possible - probably before the appointment of Rajan’s successor. The Economic Times today reported that the government is likely to appoint an economist as a successor for Rajan. “The government is more keen on appointing an economist as the RBI governor. Bureaucrats are not under active consideration,” a senior government official was quoted as saying in the report. With Reuters