Governor of the Reserve Bank Raghuram Rajan bids farewell after describing his three-year tenure at the RBI as ‘fantastic’, further adding that he ‘loved every minute’ at the Mint Street. “At the end of the day, if you have felt you have made useful contribution.. from the perspective, it’s been a fantastic job. I’ve enjoyed every minute of it,” said RBI Governor, Dr Raghuram Rajan on August 9, 2016. "I hope that there has been some value added," he said about his tenure.
The highly admired former chief economist at the International Monetary Fund, Raghuram Rajan is due to step down from his position on September 4, 2016. He is scheduled to return to academia in the United States. He declined to a second term as the RBI chief, declining any advice to his successor.
During his time as the Governor at RBI, he has steered India out of its worst currency crisis in over two decades and majorly helped by tumbling oil and commodity prices. He has also succeeded in halving inflation from double-digit levels prevailing when he took over his position at the RBI.
"We managed to move the needle forward a little bit," Rajan commented to the media, as he looked back on his tenure at the RBI.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government has yet to pick a successor. A senior official told Reuters last week that a few candidates were being shortlisted for a six-member monetary policy committee.
"My hope is the next monetary policy statement (on October 4) will be by the proposed Monetary Policy Committee," Rajan told the media in a prepared remark ahead of a news briefing.
Whoever takes over from Raghuram Rajan will need to follow through on efforts to clean up bad loans hobbling Indian banks, so that they can finance the investment needed if India is to hold onto its place as one of the world's fastest growing major economies. Raghuram Rajan takes final bow, 'loved every minute of it'
