FINANCE Minister P Chidambaram on Thursday (May 8) urged the next government to keep Raghuram Rajan as central bank governor as the country's election wraps up with the opposition set to come to power.
Chidambaram asked the incoming government to respect Rajan, appointed last year by the minister's Congress-led coalition which is almost certain to lose the election to the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party.
“The governor… (has) been appointed having regard to his outstanding record, his outstanding academics, his reputation and his work earlier in other organisations,” Chidambaram, who oversaw Rajan's appointment, told reporters in New Delhi.
“The next government must respect that appointment,” said Chidambaram, who is bowing out of politics at this election.
Rajan, a suave former International Monetary Fund chief economist, was appointed last September charged with steadying the economy steeped in crises that included a weak currency and a record current account deficit.
Before he was named Reserve Bank of India (RBI) chief, Rajan was the top finance adviser to Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh.
Some experts have warned that Rajan, famed for forecasting the 2008 global financial meltdown, could be under threat if the BJP wins power next week when election results are announced.
But asked about Rajan during a recent media interview, senior BJP leader Arun Jaitley, tipped as a possible finance minister, said: “If someone is doing (a) good job, he will certainly continue.”
Chidambaram said the economy, running at a decade low of 4.5 per cent growth last year, has now stabilised and foreign and domestic investment were greatly needed.
Speaking on monetary policy, Chidambaram said he was confident that the RBI would consider in future the need to boost growth as well as keep inflation in check when deciding interest rates.
Business has been clamouring for a cut in rates to help kickstart growth, but the RBI has stressed the need to bring down inflation which has been in double figures at times during the present government's tenure.
