New Delhi, March 27
Amid speculation that he ay be the finance minister if an opposition alliance wins the ensuing General Election, former RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan has said he is willing to return to take an opportunity where he could be of use.
Rajan, a former chief economist at the International Monetary Fund who was denied a second term as RBI Governor by the BJP-led government, said he is “very happy” where he is, but is open to opportunities.
“I am very happy where I am. But if there is an opportunity to be of use I will always be there,” he said at the launch of his new book ‘The Third Pillar’ on Tuesday evening.
Rajan, who is currently the Katherine Dusak Miller Distinguished Service Professor of Finance at the University of Chicago’s Booth School of Business in the US, was asked if he would like to return to India in public service or even a political role.
Speculation in political circles has been that he may be a choice for finance minister if the ‘Grand Alliance’ of opposition parties such as TMC, Samajwadi Party, BSP and TDP were to win the April/May General Election.
Congress president Rahul Gandhi had on Tuesday stated that Rajan was among top economists that his party had consulted to draft its minimum income guarantee scheme, Nyuntam Aay Yojana or NYAY.
The scheme assures up to Rs 72,000 a year or Rs 6,000 a month income to 20% of India’s poorest families if the Congress is voted back to power in the Lok Sabha elections next month.
In an interview to a news channel yesterday, Rajan said it was “premature” to discuss if he was approached by any of the parties to take up a policy-making position if they were to win.
“I think it is premature to have this discussion. I really think that this is an important election for India and I also think we need a new set of reforms. I would be happy to push those ideas,” he said. — PTI
from The Tribune https://ift.tt/2Ud4Nm2
via Today’s News Headlines
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