Government names three academics to Monetary Policy Committee

Three academics from the country's top institutions have been named the government nominee members to the Monetary Policy Committee that has been mandated to ensure the country's retail inflation stays within a band of 4 percent, plus or minus two percentage points.

The names, cleared by the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet, are: Chetan Ghate, Professor at the Indian Statistical Institute; Pami Dua, Director at Delhi School of Economics; and Ravindra Dholakia, Professor at the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad.

On its part, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has already named its set of three representatives to the six-member committee -- the Governor, at present Urjit Patel who is also the chair with a casting vote, Deputy Governor R. Gandhi and Executive Director Michael Patra.

With the full membership of the panel in place, the next bi-monthly monetary policy update of the Reserve Bank of India, scheduled on October 4, is expected to go by the recommendations of this panel, including a call on interest rates, officials said.

The government had said its three members will be experts in the field of economics, banking, finance or monetary policy and will be appointed for a period of four years -- and will not be eligible for re-appointment.

The panel is to meet at least four times a year and publicise its decisions after each meeting.

--IANS

ap/vt