RBI deputy Urjit Patel set to get second term

Reserve Bank of India Deputy Governor Urjit Patel, who drafted historic changes to monetary policy in the country, is likely to get re-appointed after his three-year term ends next month, The Economic Times reported on Friday, citing a government official.

"He will get an extension and continue his term," the Economic Times quoted the official as saying.

The government will send Patel's name to the appointments committee of the cabinet for final approval, the newspaper reported.

A finance ministry spokesman declined to comment on whether Patel would get an extension.

Patel, who joined the RBI in January 2013, heads its monetary policy department and is widely considered to be a trusted lieutenant to Governor Raghuram Rajan.

Formerly at the International Monetary Fund and president of Reliance Industries Ltd , Patel headed the committee that drafted the landmark shift in India's monetary policy, putting the focus on consumer inflation and introducing inflation targeting.

His appointment would thus mark continuity to the current RBI policies, analysts have said.

Should Patel be re-appointed, the focus of investors would then shift to Rajan's own tenure, which ends in September.