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Informist, Friday, Mar. 7, 2025

--Govt sources: Selection panel not yet decided on 4th RBI deputy governor
--Sources: Govt could invite fresh applications for post of RBI dy governor

By Priyasmita Dutta and Sagar Sen

NEW DELHI – The government is yet to decide on Michael Patra's successor as Reserve Bank of India deputy governor, with a four-month long search yet to bear fruit. According to senior finance ministry officials that Informist spoke to, the selection panel could even invite fresh applications for the vacant position.

"So far, the government panel has not been able to make a selection," one of the officials told Informist, requesting anonymity. "The selection panel does not sit on a decision for so long...maybe they are looking for new candidates to interview," the official added.

A second official said the government may publish a fresh advertisement for applications with a new deadline. However, "it is not finalised yet," the source added.

The government has been looking for a new deputy governor to succeed Patra, whose term ended on Jan. 14. The search began in early November, with applications invited by Nov. 30. After Patra demitted office, a high-level panel including Governor Sanjay Malhotra, Cabinet Secretary T.V. Somanathan, and Department of Financial Services Secretary M. Nagaraju, among others, conducted several interviews in mid-January. However, the committee has not managed to zero-in on a name so far.

Following Patra's retirement, the departments handled by him were distributed among the other three deputy governors. M. Rajeshwar Rao, the senior-most deputy governor, was given temporary change of the Monetary Policy Department. As the deputy governor in charge of monetary policy is an ex-officio member of the RBI's Monetary Policy Committee, Rao participated in the Feb. 7-9 interest rate decision and will do so again at next month's meeting if a new deputy governor is not announced by then. Given the crucial responsibilities the deputy governor will have to handle, the government is being particularly selective in selecting Patra's successor, finance ministry officials said.

The finance ministry did not respond to an e-mail asking for a comment. An RBI spokesperson did not reply to a message on the same.

Until the middle of last month, Chief Economic Adviser V. Anantha Nageswaran was widely considered to be the frontrunner for the post of deputy governor. However, on Feb. 20, his term as the government's top economist was extended by two years till March 2027. Apart from Nageswaran, others who were interviewed by the aforementioned selection panel included former MPC external member Chetan Ghate, National Council of Applied Economic Research Director General Poonam Gupta, and Madras School of Economics Director of N.R. Bhanumurthy. Ghate was until recently director of New Delhi-based Institute of Economic Growth and is a professor of economics at Indian Statistical Institute, Delhi. Gupta is a member of the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister and member (convener) of the advisory council to the 16th Finance Commission.  End

 

Edited by Akul Nishant Akhoury

 

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