India Inc. is upbeat about the appointment of Urjit Patel as the new Governor of the Reserve Bank of India and is optimistic that Mr. Patel will continue the good job by his predecessor Raghuram Rajan in containing inflation and reducing the interest rates.
JSW Group chairman Sajjan Jindal is excited with government’s choice of an internal candidate for the governor role at RBI. “I am very glad that the Government has taken a decision on appointing RBI gov as an internal candidate vs from outside as this will support the continuation of the policy at the RBI,” Jindal told The Hindu .
Mr. Patel has been serving as Deputy Governor of the central bank for more than three years.
IndiaBulls Housing Finance Vice Chairman and Managing Director Gagan Banga feels that appointment of Mr. Patel as the new governor of RBI will be viewed positively by the international ratings and investment community.
“In the current context of the economy where the fiscal and monetary policy need to work together , continuity of a monetary policy expert as RBI Governor will be viewed very positively by the International Rating and Investing Community and will work to India's advantage over the medium term,” said Gagan Banga.
A panel under Mr. Patel’s chairmanship had proposed inflation-targeting and the setting up of a monetary policy committee.
Videocon Industries chairman Venugopal Dhoot is pinning hopes on the new governor to cut interest rates. “Mr Urjit Patel has profound vision about global economy, and extraordinary intellectual power about understanding the financial problems in India. He will reduce interest rate and also help in reducing down inflation. He will provide maximum finance to infrastructure and in foreign exchange front his policy will help in reducing current account deficit,” Dhoot told The Hindu .
Godrej Industries chairman Adi Godrej feels that Mr. Patel is an excellent choice.
Echoing similar feelings, RPG Group chairman Harsh Goenka told The Hindu , “The economy is in good hands. Globally respected, eminent economist with 360 degree view on economy – stellar experience drawn from the best in MNC, semi-government, private sector and the government. A great choice.”
Bajaj Group chairman Rahul Bajaj is delighted that the Government of India has appointed Mr. Urjit Patel as the new Governor of RBI to succeed Mr. Raghuram Rajan. “All of us in business know about his work as the head of the committee which Mr. Raghuram Rajan had formed some time ago. I would like to mention that, I believe, Mr. Patel has worked very closely with Mr. Rajan whom I hold in very high regard. I am not one of those who keeps harping on lower interest rates though my customers in my companies like Bajaj Auto and Bajaj Finance would naturally stand to benefit. While we naturally need higher growth, inflation hurts everyone, especially the weaker sections of society and also the corporate sector,” said Mr. Bajaj adding that I am confident that Mr. Patel's decisions regarding interest rates, monetary policy, cleaning the NPAs of banks, etc., will be balanced keeping in mind the circumstances prevailing from time to time.
