The Union Government has reconstituted the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) by appointing three new external members on Tuesday.
The move come ahead of the MPC meeting next week.
Professor Ram Singh, Director of the Delhi School of Economics; economist Saugata Bhattacharya; and Dr. Nagesh Kumar, Director and Chief Executive of the Institute for Studies in Industrial Development, will now serve on the MPC.
These appointments replace Mumbai-based Professor Ashima Goyal, IIM-Ahmedabad’s Jayanth Varma, and senior adviser Shashanka Bhide from New Delhi. Goyal, Bhide, and Varma were appointed in October 2020 and, as per the RBI Act, external members are not eligible for reappointment, nor can their tenures be extended.
A selection panel led by RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das, Cabinet Secretary T.V. Somanathan and Economic Affairs Secretary Ajay Seth chooses the external MPC members.
Further, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s signs off on the decision.
The newly appointed members will serve a four-year term, effective immediately, according to the Finance Ministry.
The reconstitution of the MPC was carried out in line with the Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934, which mandates that the MPC comprises six members—three nominated by the government and three from the RBI.
