ISAS Briefs

A public spat between the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and the Government of India that festered for over four months towards end 2018 culminated in the resignation of Governor Urjit Patel and the swift appointment of veteran civil servant Shaktikanta Das as his successor. Reportedly, the root cause of the differences was the RBI’s reluctance to accommodate the government’s plea for a softer regulatory and monetary policy stance that would have aided economic activity. Even as the dispute has gone to the background, there are continuing concerns about the extent to which the RBI’s prized autonomy has been eroded. Among the many challenges for Governor Das will be to remove misperceptions in this regard.