US Fed Chair names three Indians on new monetary policy task forces

Indian-origin leaders Raghuram Rajan, Raj Chetty and Asha Sharma will head key US Federal Reserve task forces reviewing monetary policy and institutional reforms

US Federal Reserve Chairman Kevin Warsh on Friday announced the names of leaders of five task forces constituted to examine the central bank’s approach to monetary policy, and propose transformational changes. Among the leaders named by Warsh, academics, former central bankers and corporate executives, are three people of Indian origin, namely, former RBI governor Raghuram Rajan, Harvard University economics  professor Raj Chetty and Microsoft XBOX Chief Executive Officer Asha Sharma. While announcing the leadership, Warsh said “the goal is straightforward: To ensure the Fed is best positioned to achieve our objectives in this consequential time”.

 

Raghuram Rajan 

A former Reserve Bank of India governor and chief economic adviser to the Government of India, Rajan has been named to co-lead the Balance Sheet Policy taskforce to “examine the costs, benefits, and institutional implications” for the Fed’s balance sheet regime. Currently serving as Katherine Dusak Miller Distinguished Service Professor of Finance at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, Rajan is also known for his prescient statements at a Fed retreat in Jackson Hole Wyoming, that warned global central bankers about banks’ burgeoning subprime loan books that led to the 2008 global financial crisis. 

 

 

Raj Chetty 

The William A Ackman Professor of Public Economics at Harvard University, Chetty was named to the panel on Liquidity Dependence. He serves as director of Opportunity Insights at Harvard University that researches ways for children from disadva­nt­aged backgrounds to have a better chance at success. With co-chairs, Harvard University economics professor Jeremy Stein, former Walmart president and CEO Doug McMillon, and University of Chicago profe­ssor of economics Kevin Murphy, Chetty will  examine the costs, benefits, and implications of the Fed’s current balance sheet regime.

 

Asha Sharma 

Asha Sharma, the Indian-origin chief executive of Microsoft gaming unit XBOX, has been selected to run a task force on productivity and employment. This comes a few days after one of the largest layoffs at the gaming company in recent times. Born in India and raised in the US, Sharma has built her work experience with major tech firms such as Meta, ecommerce platform Coupang, grocery delivery company Instacart, and home improvement retailer The Home Depot. Her panel co-chairs include Marc Andreessen, Cofounder of investment firm Andreessen Horowitz and Stanford University professor Charles ‘Chad’ Jones.