Raghuram Rajan, who was immensely popular amongst the people and media during his tenure, officially stepped down on Sunday, with deputy governor Urjit Patel taking over. Photo: AFPMumbai: India’s outgoing central bank chief Raghuram Rajan warned countries against a rush to low interest rates as his tenure as governor of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) came to an end. The 53-year-old, who clashed with the government over the speed of cuts, said low interest rates should not be an alternative to reforms that may be needed to boost growth, according to the paper. “Often when monetary policy is really easy, it (low interest rates) becomes the residual policy of choice,” the newspaper quoted Rajan as saying, adding that “other instruments of policy” may be needed to encourage economic growth. In a separate interview with the Financial Times, Rajan predicted that his reforms, including setting inflation targets and tackling bad bank loans, would continue.

Source: Mint September 05, 2016 10:52 UTC