Finance Minister P Chidambaram informed reporters that the government was looking out for a new Governor of Reserve Bank of India (RBI).
It is learnt that the present Governor D Subbarao is due to retire in September. The government is reportedly considering some names like the Planning Commission member Saumitra Chaudhuri, Economic Affairs Secretary Arvind Mayaram and Chief Economic Advisor Raghuram Rajan for the top job in RBI.
The finance minister also said that Subbarao had expressed his desire to “move on”. He is already on a two-year extension after being initially appointed for three years in 2008.
Subbarao had served as Finance Secretary before being appointed as the Governor of RBI.
Chaudhuri, according to reports, enjoys the support of the Prime Minister’s Economic Advisory Council (PMEAC) Chairman C Rangarajan, who himself has held the RBI top job.
The finance minister is said to be in favour of choosing between Rajan and Mayaram for the post.
Earlier, there were rumours that the government may give Subbarao another extension as general elections are less than a year away and the government would have been comfortable with a man who’s been at the helm of affairs for a long time rather than have someone new altogether.
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