Faced no govt interference in functioning as RBI chief: Raghuram Rajan

I managed to carry out the agenda that I had set out in my first speech: Rajan

Speaking of the government's relations with the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), former RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan on Tuesday said that personally, he had enjoyed a substantial degree of independence from any interference in his functioning.

"I basically had a fair amount of independence... I worked with two governments," Rajan said at the release here of his book "I do what I do", which he described as essentially a compilation of the speeches he delivered as the RBI Governor.

"I managed to carry out the agenda that I had set out in my first speech," he said.

Rajan recalled he became RBI Governor in September 2013 at a time of crisis for the Indian economy.

"There was no interference in carrying out my agenda. I had a good relationship with both governments... and I kept them informed," he added.

In 2016, however, on completion of his three-year term, Rajan became the first Indian central bank governor since Independence not to have his tenure renewed.

A few months before his term finished, Rajan announced that he would be returning to his teaching position in the US at the end of his tenure at the RBI.