On Wednesday, the central government appointed M. Rajeshwar Rao as deputy governor of the Reserve Bank of India, it said in a notification. He is currently the CEO of RBI. The Union’s Cabinet Appointments Committee has approved the appointment, the notification said. Rao succeeds NS Vishwanathan as fourth deputy governor.
He has been associated with the Reserve Bank since 1984, holding various positions. He became CEO of the central bank in 2016. Currently, he is in charge of internal debt management, financial markets operations, international and secretarial departments of the central bank. Prior to assuming this role, Rao was CEO of the Financial Markets Operations Department. Previously, he was in charge of the risk monitoring department. His vast experience makes him one of the favorites for the position.
He has a BA in economics and an MBA from Cochin University. He is also a Certified Associate of the Indian Institute of Bankers.
Rao has experience working as a Banking Ombudsman in New Delhi and at the regional offices of the Reserve Bank in Ahmedabad, Hyderabad, Chennai and New Delhi.
On Tuesday, the central government appointed three external members Ashima Goyal, Jayanth R Varma and Shashanka Bhide to the RBI’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC). The RBI MPC on Wednesday began its three-day deliberations. There is a consensus that the central bank will maintain the status quo on benchmark lending rates in light of inflation, which will be announced on October 9.
Rahul Gupta, Head of Currency Research at Emkay Global Financial Services, said: “We expect the central bank to maintain a status quo due to rising inflation. The focus will be on growth projections, as from February 2020, the RBI has not given a solid economic projection. “
“This MPC meeting is the first with the new government nominees on the Committee. Considering this is their first meeting and with inflation consistently above 6, they are expected to maintain policy rates,” said Divakar Vijayasarathy, founder and partner manager, DVS Advisors LLP.
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