Michael Patra, Chetan Ghate Among Candidates For Reserve Bank Deputy Governor's Post

The Financial Sector Regulatory Appointment Search Committee (FSRASC) is understood to have interviewed 10 candidates including RBI's Executive Director Michael Patra and external MPC member Chetan Ghate.

RBI Deputy Governor post had fallen vacant after the resignation of Viral Acharya. (File Photo/ Getty)

New Delhi: The Financial Sector Regulatory Appointment Search Committee (FSRASC) is understood to have interviewed 10 candidates including RBI's Executive Director Michael Patra and external MPC member Chetan Ghate among 3 other economists, two IAS officers for RBI's deputy governor's post. Chetan Ghate is an external member of RBI's Monetary Policy Committee. Micheal Debabrata Patra is current Executive Director at RBI. IAS officer Kshatrapati Shivaji is also said to be in the list for the position of Reserve Bank of India's deputy governor. He has been the CEO of SIDBI and principal secretary in the Ministry of Finance and is currently India's executive director at ADB (Asian Development Bank). Arunish Chawla, a bureaucrat currently in Washington at Indian Embassy economic wing and Manoj Govil, the principal finance secretary of Madhya Pradesh have possibly been interviewed for the post. However, there was no official communications on the interviews conducted on November 7 for the post. The search panel FSRASC is headed by Cabinet Secretary and also includes RBI Governor, Financial Services Secretary including independent members. Having previously worked as the CEO of SIDBI and principal secretary in the Ministry of Finance, Shivaji has been serving as an executive director of the ADB since December 2016. The post, which has traditionally gone to an economist outside the central bank, had fallen vacant after the resignation of Viral Acharya. Prior to Acharya, it was held by Urjit Patel, who was later elevated to the post of governor. Acharya's last working day at the central bank was July 23. The successful candidate would be the only deputy governor out of four at the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) who will be part of the the six-member Monetary Policy Committee. Acharya's successor would also head the RBI's monetary policy and research departments. In August, the government had invited applications to fill the Deputy Governor's post. The Advertisement said the applicant should have at least 25 years of work experience in public administration, including at the level of secretary or equivalent in the central government. Candidates in an Indian or international public financial institution could also apply. The appointment was for three years and the person was eligible for reappointment. FSRASC is responsible for selecting the eligible candidate. The central bank has four Deputy Governors of which two are appointed from outside, one a commercial banker and the other, an economist. The remaining two are promoted from within the RBI. After Viral Acharya resigned suddenly, B.P. Kanungo, a Deputy Governor of the RBI, was given the charge of the monetary policy department and was inducted into the six-member monetary policy committee. And there at least two monetary policy reviews after Acharya had quit, one in August and another in October with the next review is slated for early December.