Reserve Bank Governor Raghuram Rajan, a Union Cabinet Minister and a well-known banker in infrastructure finance have figured so far in discussions on possible candidates for BRICS’ New Development Bank president. This short list is not final; the Modi government is scouting for more names before it takes a decision on the nomination, a Finance Ministry source told The Hindu .
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in his opening statement at the BRICS leaders’ meet in Brisbane on Saturday, proposed that 2016 be set as the target for the inauguration of the BRICS Bank. “We hope to ratify the agreement by the end of the year… We would soon nominate our candidate for the post of the presidency,” Mr. Modi said. The BRICS nations — Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa — had agreed at their sixth Summit in Fortaleza that India will nominate the first president of the bank and that its headquarters will be located in China.
The Modi government has not formally reached out to Mr. Rajan as yet, the source said. He also indicated that ultimately it might become difficult for India to spare Mr. Rajan for the role.
Volatility in the rupee has reduced and external account stabilised over the first 14 months of Mr. Rajan’s tenure at the Reserve Bank.
