RBI Deputy Guv quits six months before term end

Mumbai, June 24

Viral Acharya has resigned as Deputy Governor of Reserve Bank of India six months before the end of his tenure, citing “unavoidable personal circumstances”.

Reports said he would be returning to New York University Stern School of Business in August as CV Starr Professor of Economics.

Following his departure, the RBI will be left with three Deputy Governors — NS Vishwanathan, BP Kanungo and MK Jain.

Acharya’s resignation comes seven months after the resignation of Urjit Patel as the Governor of RBI. 

During his tenure, Acharya had locked horns with the finance ministry over the autonomy of the bank. Last year, he said the horizon of government’s decision-making was short and driven by political considerations.

Acharya went on to say that the undermining of the RBI’s independence could result in a crisis of confidence in the capital markets.

The Reserve Bank has gone through a tumultuous time in the past two-and-a-half years, starting with a change in policymaking where rate-setting shifted to a six-member panel that experts commended as a step in the right direction, to the surprise resignation of  Patel. — TNS/PTI