S Gurumurthy's appointment to RBI board may lead to interesting times

Gurumurthy is proud of his integrity and was known to cycle to the local RSS shakha even after he had become a successful chartered accountant

With the exception of the demonetisation decision of November 8, 2016, the influence that Swaminathan Gurumurthy exerts on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and the economic policies of the government that he leads, has apparently been unobtrusive. 

But to understand the compelling clout that the 69-year-old torchbearer of “Bharatiya economics” wields on the Modi government, and the significance of his appointment as a part-time director on the board of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Tuesday, it is important to examine the successful policy interventions by the Swadeshi Jagran Manch (SJM), an economic think-tank affiliated to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS),