Minister of State for Finance Jayant Sinha has quashed rumours of any decision made by the government on the continuation or otherwise of Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Raghuram Rajan.
Speaking at an event in New Delhi on Thursday, Sinha said, "The current round of discussions are a creation of the media. The government will take a decision at the right time and I have nothing further to say." The three- year term of the RBI governor comes to end in September this year and there have been several reports on whether he will get a second and final term of another two years.
The minister was responding to a question on whether Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and Prime Minister Narendra Modi had taken any position on the same. Adverse reports on Rajan have had a negative impact on the bond and currency markets even as positive reports have buoyed them up.
In the past couple of days, the exchange value of the rupee had moved adversely against the dollar and bonds have declined on reports in the Anandabazar Patrika that Rajan doesn't want an extension of his term, though it was reported that the PM wants him to stay on.
Rajan has told the government that he doesn't want to continue as RBI chief after his term ends in early September, the Bengali daily reported on Wednesday, citing unidentified sources close to Rajan.
