New Delhi: Former Reserve Bank of India (RBI) governor Urjit Patel was Thursday appointed as chairman of the National Institute of Public Finance and Policy (NIPFP), a Delhi-based think tank that works closely with governments on various policy reforms.
Rathin Roy, former member of the Prime Minister’s economic advisory council, has quit his post as director of the NIPFP.
Patel quit as RBI governor in December 2018, eight months short of completing his three-year tenure, after a months-long public tussle with the Narendra Modi government over issues ranging from problems at the country’s lenders to utilisation of capital reserves.
The relationship between the government and the RBI had, at the time, worsened to such an extent that the government threatened to invoke Section 7 of the RBI Act to make the central bank follow its directions. Patel had, however, cited “personal reasons” in his resignation letter.
Over the past few months, Patel has been critical of the government and the central bank over its handling of some issues, including relaxation of rules encouraging foreign portfolio inflows as well as imposition of import duties on many items.
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A new role for Patel
The NIPFP was set up as a autonomous society registered under the Societies Registration Act, 1860 at, the joint initiative of the Union Finance Ministry, the erstwhile Planning Commission, many state governments and academicians, according to its website.
A substantial chunk of its funding comes from the Union Finance Ministry through an annual grant. Its chairman typically gives broad policy directions and looks into the governance of the institution.
Patel’s name was proposed by the outgoing Chairman Vijay Kelkar and accepted by the governing council at a meeting Thursday, a person familiar with the development said.
The governing council comprises members from the government, including Revenue Secretary Ajay Bhushan Pandey, Department of Economic Affairs Secretary Tarun Bajaj and Krishnamurthy Subramanian, the Chief Economic Advisor in the finance ministry. Other members include representatives from the RBI and Niti Aayog.
Kelkar was the chairman of the thirteenth finance commission and also served as an adviser to the finance minister in the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government. His term as chairman of the NIPFP came to an end in April 2020, according to the think tank’s website. Patel will have a four-year term as NIPFP chair, until June 2024.
Rathin Roy quits NIPFP too
Meanwhile, the NIPFP governing council has constituted a search committee to look for a replacement for Roy, who quit as director Thursday, according to the source mentioned above.
In September last year, Roy was removed from the PM’s economic advisory council. He has been critical of the government’s policies, including its plan to go in for a sovereign bond issuance in foreign currency. His tenure as NIPFP director began in May 2013.
ThePrint approached Roy but he refused to comment for this report. It could not be ascertained how long Roy will continue in the post
Sumit Bose, the vice-chairman of the NIPFP, has also stepped down.
An earlier version of the report said Roy’s tenure started March 2013. It started May 2013.
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