RBI will survive any Governor, do not personalise it: Raghuram Rajan
Rajan, a former International Monetary Fund (IMF) Chief Economist who is credited to have predicted the 2008 global financial crisis, has been often hailed as the 'rockstar central banker' ever since becoming RBI Governor in September 2013 and for containing rupee volatility amid global market uncertainties.
Reserve Bank of India (RBI) will survive any Governor and it is important not to "personalise this office", the outgoing Raghuram Rajan said days before his surprise announcement that he was not interested in a second term.
Rajan, a former International Monetary Fund (IMF) Chief Economist who is credited to have predicted the 2008 global financial crisis, has been often hailed as the 'rockstar central banker' ever since becoming RBI Governor in September 2013 and for containing rupee volatility amid global market uncertainties.
Besides, he has also been often praised for containing inflation to a large extent and for forcing the banks to do a "deep surgery" to clean up their books of bad loans. At the same time, he has also been criticised by some quarters for his hawkish monetary policy stance and refusing to heed to demands for lowering interest rates to boost the economy.
"What is important is to not personalise this office. It will survive any Governor, it is bigger than any Governor," the Economist magazine quoted Rajan as saying in its latest edition.
The comments are believed to have been made amid intense speculation on whether he would get an extension or not as RBI Governor -- in the run-up to his own disclosure in a publicly- disseminated "Message to RBI staff" that he would return to academia after the end of his current three-year tenure.
"Though a relative newcomer to the cut and thrust of Indian policymaking, Rajan knows better than to offer any comment on his reappointment," the magazine wrote.
It said Rajan "need not even leave his office atop the Reserve Bank of India's tower in Mumbai to gauge two factors central to India's prosperity".
The Economist further quoted him as saying while looking down, the ships sailing to nearby docks provide clues as to the buoyancy of foreign trade -- "The imposition of steel tariffs earlier this year, a knock-on effect from China's slowdown, all but stopped traffic for a time".
It further said Rajan "favours incremental reforms over wholesale ones. He has made it easier to move money in and out of India, but not abolished capital controls in the way you might have expected from a former IMF chief economist".
According to the magazine, Rajan's three-year term is the shortest of any G20 country and the recent governors have been given second terms as much as seven months in advance.
In a separate article in its web edition after Rajan announced his decision against a second term, the Economist called it "one of India's favourite parlour games" coming to an end, while adding that a clean-up of the banking system that he initiated upset "India's powerful and indebted industrialists".
Get Latest Business News, Stock Market Updates and Videos; Check your tax outgo through Income Tax Calculator and save money through our Personal Finance coverage. Check Business Breaking News Live on Zee Business Twitter and Facebook. Subscribe on YouTube.
RECOMMENDED STORIES
SBI 444-day FD vs Union Bank of India 333-day FD: Know maturity amount on Rs 4 lakh and Rs 8 lakh investments for general and senior citizens
Power of Compounding: Salary Rs 25,000 per month; is it possible to create over Rs 2.60 crore corpus; understand it through calculations
New Year Pick by Anil Singhvi: This smallcap stock can offer up to 75% return in long term - Check targets
PSU Oil Stocks: Here's what brokerage suggests on these 2 largecap, 1 midcap scrips - Buy, Sell or Hold?
Power of Compounding: How many years it will take to reach Rs 2 crore corpus if your monthly SIP is Rs 3,000, Rs 4,000, or Rs 5,000
Retirement Calculator: 40 years of age, Rs 50,000 monthly expenses; what should be retirement corpus and monthly investment
11:12 AM IST