The Modi government is in the process of short-listing candidates for the president of the proposed BRICS bank -- the New Development Bank. 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.
Though the name of RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan is on the list along with that of a Union Cabinet Minister, sources said it might be difficult to release Dr Rajan. “It is a question of the confidence the global world of finance has come to have in Dr. Rajan as India’s Central banker … there is always the risk that his departure from the Reserve Bank could bring the rupee under pressure with overnight dollar outflows,” the source said.
The Union Cabinet Minister figuring on the early list of names for the BRICS Bank president nomination too has expressed preference for staying on in his current assignment in the Modi government.
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The Fortaleza Summit had delivered the New Development Bank and the Contingent Reserve Arrangement. The BRICS nations are collectively creating the global institution to promote sustainable development and bridge infrastructure gaps. This also sends a strong message to the rest of the world about the efficacy of BRICS, Mr. Modi said in his remarks in Brisbane.