Amid tussle with government, RBI governor Urjit Patel may resign on Nov 19: Report

Amid the stiff between the Central government and RBI, governor of the Central bank Urjit Patel might resign from his position in the next board meeting citing health issues.

Over the past few weeks, both government and the RBI have been fighting over how much autonomy the RBI should have. (Image: PTI)

Govt vs RBI: Amid the stiff between the Central government and Reserve Bank of India (RBI), governor of the Central bank Urjit Patel might resign from his position in the next board meeting citing health issues. The next board meeting of RBI is scheduled to take place on November 19. According to a report by online financial portal Moneylife, if the feud escalates any further, there are high chances that Patel might tender his resignation as he was tired of the ongoing struggle with the government and it is having a negative impact on his health. However, it is also being speculated that it will be too soon for Patel to resign as tussle between government and RBI is out in open. Over the past few weeks, both government and the Central bank have been fighting over how much autonomy the RBI should have as the administration of Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeks to reduce curbs on lending and to gain access to the RBI’s surplus reserves. The rift escalated to a new level after RBI’s deputy governor last month stated that undermining central bank independence could be ‘potentially catastrophic’ for the country and its economy. Though, there has been no official confirmation about the report by the RBI yet. Earlier this week, former RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan too pitched for respecting the institutional anonymity of the RBI and said that the central bank is like a seat belt in a car, without which accidents can happen. The central bank has the liberty to say no if the government pushes it to be lenient, Rajan said while speaking to CNBC TV18. “The RBI is something like a seat belt. As a driver, the driver being the government, it has the possibility of not putting on a seat belt but of course if you do not put on your seat belt you get into an accident and the accident can be quite severe,” he said during his interview with the channel.