Govt fires IMF director 6 months ahead of tenure

Six months ahead of his three-year tenure, the government has terminated the services of KV Subramanian as the executive director at the International Monetary Fund (IMF), sources said on Saturday.

The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet has terminated Subramanian’s services effective April 30, they added.

The reasons for Subramanian’s exit have not been officially announced. The sources said the government would soon find his replacement to be nominated to the IMF board.

Subramanian is learnt to have raised questions about the IMF’s datasets, which did not go down well in the corridors of the multilateral agency, the sources said.

Besides, the sources said, concerns were raised over an “alleged impropriety” relating to the promotion and publicity of his latest book, “India@100”.

Subramanian was appointed as the executive director (India) at the IMF with effect from November 1, 2022 for a period of three years. Prior to this, he served as the chief economic adviser to the government.

The executive board of the IMF is composed of 25 directors (executive directors or EDs) elected by the member countries or groups of countries.

India is in a four-country constituency, along with Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Bhutan as members.