Michael Debabrata Patra, Executive Director of the RBI who is in charge of the monetary policy, is seen as a strong contender to succeed Urjit Patel as Deputy Governor, once the latter takes over as the next Governor of the central bank.
Mr. Patra, who joined the RBI in 1985 and is a confidant of Mr. Patel, was recently selected by the central bank board as its nominee on the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC). Mr. Patra was elevated as executive director in October 2014. Before that, he was the adviser in charge of the monetary policy.
The government is in the process of forming the six-member committee and it expects to announce three members from outside the RBI shortly. The three internal members are the Governor, a Deputy Governor and an official to be nominated by its board.
Mr. Patra’s experience in monetary policy could be useful at a time when the central bank will make an important transition as it shifts to a rule-based policy from a discretion-based regime, with interest rates set by a committee. Mr. Patra has been in contention for Deputy Governor earlier, as he was interviewed when Mr. Patel’s first term as Deputy Governor was coming to an end last December.
