RBI chief says independent debt management office a year or two away

MUMBAI (Reuters) - Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Raghuram Rajan said on Wednesday an independent debt management office would take at least a year or two to come into effect and that the central bank was not worried about depletion of its regulatory powers.

The government has added some provisions in the Finance Bill which could take away some debt market-related regulation from the purview of the central bank.

Rajan also said it was discussing with the government about increasing transparency of government's cash balances that are kept with the central bank, but would also have to look into the government's concerns on revelaing the numbers.

Rajan was speaking to analysts during a teleconference after cutting interest rates in a surprise move earlier on Wednesday.

(Reporting by Suvashree Dey Choudhury and Swati Bhat; Editing by Biju Dwarakanath)