The Reserve Bank of India is unlikely to have a new governor appointed to replace Raghuram Rajan before the next bi-monthly monetary policy meeting scheduled for August 9. A senior government official told Reuters that the successor will first be named the temporary governor of the central bank before being appointed to the post officially, as was done with Rajan in 2013.
The Narendra Modi government had earlier been keen on appointing a new governor before the monetary policy meet. Revealing that they had not yet decided when the announcement will be made, the official said, "I find it difficult to think that the new governor will be appointed [before the policy meeting] – the governor in place would become a lame duck."
Moreover, two other government officials in the know said Chief Economist of the World Bank Kaushik Basu had been added to the Centre's shortlist of candidates to replace Rajan after his term ends on September 4. Basu's term at the World Bank ends on July 31.
There has been wide speculation over possible candidates to succeed Rajan. It emerged earlier this month that Modi's policy adviser Arvind Panagariya was the frontrunner for the post. RBI Deputy Governor Urjit Patel, former deputy governors of the central bank Rakesh Mohan and Subir Gokarn, and Chairperson of the State Bank of India Arundhati Bhattacharya are also considered to be in the running.
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