Arvind Panagariya likely to be next RBI Governor: Reports

Zee Media Bureau

New Delhi: Arvind Panagariya, the policy adviser to Prime Minister Narendra Modi could be named the successor of Raghuram Rajan as the next Governor of Reserve Bank of India later this week.

As per media reports, PM Modi, upon his return from Africa, could name his policy adviser as the next RBI Governor.

Though both the PMO and Panagariya's office declined to comments, media reports suggest that an official announcement could be made in the next 48 hours.

Panagariya, who heads the government’s main economic advisory body, is also India’s Group of 20 summit negotiator.

He is also the Vice Chairman of Niti Aayog of India.

Arvind Panagariya is an Indian-American economist and Professor of Economics at Columbia University and an ex-Chief Economist at the Asian Development Bank.

Raghuram Rajan's three-year term will come to an end on September 4, as he last month announced that he would return to academia and not seek a second term.

And while Arvind Panagariya is likely to be the next RBI Governor, top contenders for the post include former deputy governors of the Reserve Bank of India Subir Gokarn and Rakesh Mohan.

Others who are said to be in the fray for job include SBI chief Arundhati Bhattacharya and Economic Affairs Secretary Shaktikanta Das.

Government's Chief Economic Adviser Arvind Subramanian and the RBI's current Deputy Governor Urjit Patel are also considered to be in reckoning.