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The popular Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Gov. Raghuram Rajan will step down when his term ends in September to return to academia, he said in a letter published Saturday, ending intense speculation over his future.
Credited with helping to transform India’s economy in his three years at the helm, the question of whether Rajan would seek — and be granted — a second term as RBI head has been feverishly debated in Indian media.
In the letter to colleagues, the former IMF chief economist said he believed the bank had delivered on objectives including taming inflation, stabilizing the rupee and tackling India’s mountain of bad loans.
He seemed to hint that differences with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government had factored into the decision.
“While I was open to seeing these developments through, on due reflection, and after consultation with the government, I want to share with you that I will be returning to academia when my term as Governor ends on September 4, 2016,” Rajan wrote.
“I will, of course, always be available to serve my country when needed,” he stated, thanking colleagues for their “unflinching support.”
Rajan, 53, enjoys a mass appeal not normally associated with a banker, and has been dubbed “rock star Rajan” and India’s “James Bond.”
An online petition for him to stay had tens of thousands of signatures.
But he has faced personal attacks from right-wing members of parliament in India’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), notably Subramanian Swamy, a media-savvy populist who had called for him to step down.
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said on Twitter the government “appreciates the good work done by him,” adding that “a decision on his successor would be announced shortly.”
All eyes will now be on the markets’ open Monday, after a recent rumor of the central banker’s departure reported in a Kolkata newspaper sent the rupee down sharply.
Rajan, who famously predicted the 2008 global financial crisis, has been widely credited with bringing stability to India’s economy since his appointment as RBI governor in September 2013.
He took over the reins at a time when India’s economy was struggling with a ballooning current account deficit, a plummeting currency and decade-low economic growth.
Rajan has successfully taken aim at inflation — bringing it down from double-digit levels to 5.8 percent currently. And India’s economy expanded by 7.9 percent in the fourth quarter of 2015-16, the fastest of any major economy.
(AFP)
