Prime Minister Modi and Finance Minister Arun Jaitley likely to select next RBI Governor by July

Zee Media Bureau

New Delhi: The Government plans to select the next RBI Governor by July and make the handing over of the baton from Raghuram Rajan to the new incumbent a smooth process.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Finance Minister Arun Jaitley will select the next governor of the Reserve Bank of India, with early discussions having already been held over possible candidates, reported The Economic Times.

There is no panel set up to decide on the final candidate as had been speculated. “There is no panel. There was never an intent to set up a panel," quoting a government source, the report said.

After the selection, the person will be moved to RBI as an Officer on Special Duty. This will facilitate a smoother handing over process, the report said.  

Rajan, on Saturday had said that he would be returning to academia once his current three-year term ends in September.

The report added that the names that have come up in early discussions include that of Economic Affairs Secretary Shaktikanta Das, Chief Economic Adviser Arvind Subramanian and former RBI deputy governors Subir Gokarn and Rakesh Mohan.

The government is keen on selecting a person with wide experience of economic and monetary policy.