Situations vacant

The economic division of the finance ministry has been headless since September when Raghuram Rajan moved to the Reserve Bank of India as governor, and a replacement looks unlikely anytime soon. Meanwhile, the division has suffered another vacancy with Principal Economic Advisor Dipak Dasgupta's tenure ending. The top two positions are vacant at a time when the Mid-Year Analysis of the economy is due in the winter session of Parliament and the Delhi Economics Conclave is scheduled for December. Economic division officials now occasionally turn to Economic Affairs Secretary Arvind Mayaram for help. It appears, however, they are comfortable handling both the Analysis and the Conclave. The only problem is that there won't be a face behind them either, so Mayaram may have to pitch in.