RBI governor appointment: Arun Jaitley to meet PM Modi today, says report

Speculation is rife that the government will today announce the new RBI govenror to succeed Raghuram Rajan. According to a report by news agency Cogencis, finance minister Arun Jaitley is meeting prime minister Narednra Modi and is likely to take a final call on the appointment today. [caption id=“attachment_2963146” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Reuters[/caption] Earlier Firstpost had reported that the government has shortlisted three candidates for the post: deputy governor Urjit Patel, former RBI deputy governor Subir Gokarn and veteran banker KV Kamath. Besides, these names, the government was also considering chief economic advisor Arvind Subramanian and economic affairs secretary Shaktikanta Das too for the post, in the initial stages. However, there have not been any confirmation on any of these names yet. Rajan is to leave the office on 4 September. Typically, the name of the new governor is decided a few days or weeks before the incumbent exits. Rajan had joined the RBI three weeks before he took over the governorship from his predecessor D Subbarao as an officer on special duty (OSD). This stint is to familiarise the new governor with the central bank’s operations and functions. The speculation that the government will make announcement this week, if not today, has gained ground because Rajan’s exit is less than a month away and if the announcement is not made now the new governor will get lesser time to familiarise with the functioning of the governor.