5 opt out of race for RBI deputy governor's post

As many as five executive directors eligible for the appointment of deputy governor’s position at the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) have decided to opt out, as they will not be appearing for interviews. The interviews, slated for Wednesday, have been postponed. New dates haven't been announced as yet. 

The government is holding the interviews as the term of B P Kanungo—one of the four deputy governors of the central bank—ends on April 2, 2021. Kanungo looks after the department of currency management, payment and settlement, foreign exchange, among others. He was appointed as deputy governor in 2017 for three years. His term was extended by one more year in 2020.

There are now 13 RBI executive directors of which 12 were eligible for the deputy governor’s post. “Five executive directors decided not to appear for the interviews for different reasons,” said a source.

Among the seven executive directors who are appearing for the interviews, Anil Sharma is the senior most, followed by S.C. Murmu and T. Rabi Sankar. Sharma is in-charge of departments like financial inclusion and premises department, while Murmu looks after the department of supervision.

Sankar, who looks after payments and settlements, risk monitoring, information technology, among others, is a frontrunner according to multiple sources.

An email to RBI remain unanswered at the time of publication.

RBI has four deputy governors, of whom two are usually appointed from within the ranks of the central bank. Of the remaining two, one is commercial bankers and the another an economist.

Currently, deputy governor MK Jain is a commercial banker. M D Patra, who is also from the central bank, is the economist deputy governor. M Rajeshwar Rao is the other deputy governor from within the ranks of the central bank who was appointed in October last year, looks after the department of regulation, among others.

Jain, who looks after the department of supervision, was appointed in June 2018 for three years. While his term will expire in June this year, he is likely to get an extension, sources said.

The most high-profile position that will come up for renewal this year, is that of RBI governor Shaktikanta Das. Das was appointed in December 2018 for three years after the surprise resignation of Urjit Patel nine months before his term ended, allegedly over differences with the government.

Two more financial sector regulator’s term will end in the next financial year.

IRDAI Chairman SC Kuntia, who was appointed in 2018, will complete his three-year term in May. He will be eligible for extension.

Ajay Tyagi, chairman of Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) will also complete his term in February 2022. Tyagi (62) is also eligible for extension since the retirement age for Sebi chairman is 65 years.