More to do in my job, says RBI governor Raghuram Rajan

RBI Governor was responding to a question in London on the politics surrounding extension of his term

In an indication that he may be open to a second term as the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) governor, Raghuram Rajan on Friday said he has enjoyed every moment of the job but there is “more to do”, despite calls from some sections of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) against any extension for him.

“There is a lot of fulfilment from making things actually happen for improving the environment... I have enjoyed every moment of the job,” Rajan said here. Rajan, whose current three-year term as RBI governor is ending this September, was asked about the “heat from the BJP and the government” on whether he should be given another term and about the politics happening on this matter.

To another question on whether he felt his agenda as the central banker would remain half-finished if the second term was not granted, Rajan told CNBC news channel, “It’s a good question. I think we have accomplished a lot... I think that ... I mean, there is always more to do.”

Senior BJP leader Subramanian Swamy on Thursday had suggested Rajan should be removed from the post of the RBI chief and accused him of being responsible for “unemployment and collapse” of industrial activity.

“In my opinion, the RBI governor is not appropriate for the country. I don’t want to speak much about him. He has hiked interest rates in the garb of controlling inflation that has damaged the country... The sooner he is sent back to Chicago, the better it would be,” Swamy had told reporters outside Parliament. Rajan, who had earlier also served as the chief economist at the International Monetary Fund and is known as a key commentator on financial issues globally, is the on-leave professor of finance at the University of Chicago’s Booth School of Business.

The governor is currently on a visit to the UK for a series of lectures and recently said he had not heard from the government on extension of his term at the central bank. After assuming charge as the RBI governor in September 2013, Rajan has gradually raised the short-term lending rate from 7.25 per cent to eight per cent and retained the high rates throughout 2014.

He had earlier kept the rates high, citing inflationary concerns despite intense pressure from the Finance Ministry and the industry for softening them with a view to boosting growth. He began the process of lowering the rates in January 2015 and since then it has come down by 1.50 per cent to 6.50 per cent.