<ul><li>Viral Acharya, member of India's monetary policy panel, has quit to go back to teaching at New York University. </li><li>Acharya has quit six months before his three-year term ends at RBI. </li><li>Acharya had earlier said that curbing the RBI’s independence as ‘potentially catastrophic’ </li></ul> An outspoken top cat from India’s central bank, Viral Acharya, has quit to go back to teaching at New York University. He had cited ‘unavoidable personal reasons’ for his resignation, six months before his three-year term ends at Reserve Bank of India (RBI). "A few weeks ago, Dr. Acharya submitted a letter to the RBI informing that due to unavoidable personal circumstances, he is unable to continue his term as a Deputy Governor of the RBI beyond July 23, 2019. Consequential action arising from his letter is under consideration of the Competent Authority," the RBI statement said. This is the third high-profile person to unexpectedly quit from the RBI since the Narendra modi government came to power. Former <keyword id="64190" type="POSITION" weightage="20" keywordseo="RBI-Governor">RBI Governor</keyword> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/miscellaneous/urjit-patel-resigns-as-governor-of-rbi-indias-central-bank/slidelist/67042856.cms" data-type="tilCustomLink" target="_blank">Urijit Patel too left before his term ended</a>, making him the first governor since 1990s to do so. His predecessor <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/r-indian-central-bank-chief-felt-undermined-in-weeks-before-quitting-sources-2016-6?IR=T" data-type="tilCustomLink" target="_blank">Raghuram Rajan’s term too was not extended</a>, and he chose to teach at Chicago Booth School of Business. This youngest ever member of RBI since liberalization in India, had earlier stirred the hornet’s nest by pointing out <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/r-why-indias-modi-wants-to-increase-control-over-the-central-bank-2018-11?IR=T" data-type="tilCustomLink" target="_blank">government’s pressure on the banking regulator</a>. In November last year, Acharya said that curbing the RBI’s independence could be ‘potentially catastrophic’. This was after a pre-election government had asked the regulator to relax lending restrictions on a few banks. This trimming of regulatory powers had not gone down well with NYU-educated Acharya, who also worked there. Acharya also believes, according to one of his papers, that state-owned banks are in a better position than private sector banks, in spite of their weak financials. This is because state-owned banks have better access to government guarantees. Poor man’s Rajan Acharya had famously called himself ‘Poor man’s Raghuram Rajan’ after the former RBI head who had paved the way for modernization in the banking system by allowing payment banks. Acharya is extremely well known in economic circles for his sharp and holds-no-barrel opinions on the economy. He has also <a href="https://www.business-standard.com/article/economy-policy/cricketer-poet-singer-central-banker-meet-viral-acharya-116122801219_1.html">co-authored papers</a> with Rajan. In one of his papers, Acharya had said that myopic governments default less often but also tax in a manner which makes the country vulnerable to defaults in the future. Economy is not the only thing that Acharya is famous for. This boy from South Mumbai and an IIT engineer was also part of the premier institution’s cricket team. He also composed a music album called ‘Yadoon ke Silsile’, and also plays at a band in an Indian film music band in New York and New Jersey. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/markets/economy/minutes-of-the-rbi-june-2019-meeting-viral-acharya-quotes-ernest-hemmingway/articleshow/69876273.cms" data-type="tilCustomLink" target="_blank">Ernest Hemingway helped an Indian economist change his mind on interest rates-- reveal the latest minutes of RBI's June meeting</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/nirmala-sitharaman-finance-minister-bimal-jalan-committee-report-on-rbi-surplus-reserves-next-meeting/articleshow/69587872.cms" data-type="tilCustomLink" target="_blank">A bitter debate may hound Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in the first fortnight-- what to do with RBI's surplus reserves</a>

Viral Acharya resigns: The member of Indian central bank's monetary policy panel and a government critic quits before his term ends to return to US

(Image source- Reuters) The rumours had been swirling for the past few months. The governor was on his way out. The Reserve Bank of India (<keyword id="30067" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="RBI">RBI</keyword>) and India’s central government, aiming for a big play before general elections next year, had been at loggerheads over a number of things: the RBI’s surplus reserves, credit to small businesses, the stringency of the Prompt Corrective Action framework, the governance of state-owned banks and special funding for non-banking financial lenders. Caught in the crossfire were the governor of the central bank, <keyword id="6375119" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="urjit-patel">Urjit Patel</keyword>, and his deputy, <keyword id="6374379" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="viral-acharya">Viral Acharya</keyword>. The latter was more <a href="https://www.bloombergquint.com/business/amidst-battle-on-three-fronts-rbis-acharya-puts-the-spotlight-on-central-bank-independence">outspoken</a> about the threats to the RBI’s independence when it came to making decisions about the economy. Meanwhile, the former maintained a dignified silence that characterised his two-year tenure, which commenced shortly before the <keyword id="6354642" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Modi">Modi</keyword> administration’s demonetisation initiative in November 2016. When Patel announced his resignation yesterday, citing the obvious “personal reasons,” it took everyone by surprise, not least of all India’s <a href="https://www.business-standard.com/article/finance/jaitley-was-told-of-urjit-patel-s-decision-to-quit-only-minutes-in-advance-118121001081_1.html">Finance Minister</a>. After a compromise of sorts was reached between the two parties last month, it was widely expected that he would stay on as the head of India’s central bank. It wasn’t to be. The announcement is timely, as it came a day before the results of elections in five states were unveiled, with the ruling party expected to face a number of upsets. It is also significant, as it lays to rest the debate over the Modi administration’s propensity to wield undue pressure and influence over the country’s institutions and regulators. The independence of a central bank is sacrosanct in a democratic country. Patel felt it was in his best interest to resign rather than implement decisions that would hurt India’s economy. His resignation, as viewed by his predecessor <keyword id="6358908" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="raghuram-rajan">Raghuram Rajan</keyword>, is an <a href="https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/markets/expert-view/urjit-patels-resignation-should-be-seen-as-a-note-of-protest-raghuram-rajan/articleshow/67027008.cms">“act of protest”</a>. From the Election Commission to the Supreme Court to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), the Modi administration has made its presence felt across most of the country’s statutory institutions. It has systematically undermined them in order to achieve its own aims - a charge it routinely levelled on the previous administration - and has decided against fostering a political environment that encourages disagreement. In a heartening sign, however, the pushback has been evident, whether its four SC judges holding a press conference to declare a conflict of interest over the Chief Justice’s allocation of cases or the CBI Director Alok Verma deciding to take special director Rakesh Asthana, a favoured pick of the current administration, off certain politically sensitive investigations. As it searches for Mr Patel’s successor over the next few weeks, the government will have to weather the financial fallout of such a move and could be forced to give in to the RBI’s demands. Moody’s, a ratings agency, has termed the government’s attempts at interference as <a href="https://www.thehindu.com/business/Economy/curbing-rbi-freedom-is-credit-negative/article25712901.ece">“credit negative”</a>. Markets will be roiled and investors will be wary as uncertainty over the RBI’s short-term mandate persists. Acharya is expected to stay on, which will instill a measure of confidence. As the Modi administration deals with a loss of public faith, it now has the gargantuan task of proving that it can respect the decision-making capacity of these bodies, especially one that is responsible for ensuring India’s financial stability. Thankfully, everyone will be watching closely. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/reserve-bank-of-india-governor-urjit-patel-resigns-citing-personal-reasons/articleshow/67026294.cms">Reserve Bank of India governor Urjit Patel resigns citing ‘personal reasons’</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/after-weeks-of-tension-the-reserve-bank-of-india-gives-in-to-some-of-the-central-governments-demands-while-retaining-its-independence/articleshow/66705908.cms">After weeks of tension, the Reserve Bank of India gives in to some of the central government's demands while retaining its independence</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/the-spat-between-indias-central-bank-and-the-government-gets-more-heated-as-the-finance-minister-blames-it-for-not-doing-enough-to-prevent-the-countrys-bad-loan-problem/articleshow/66442846.cms">The spat between India’s central bank and the government gets more heated as the finance minister blames the RBI for not doing enough to prevent the country’s bad loan problem</a>

The resignation of the governor of India’s central bank sends a clear indication about the erosion of institutional autonomy under the Modi administration

<ul><li><keyword id="30067" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="RBI">RBI</keyword>’s deputy governor <keyword id="6374379" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="viral-acharya">Viral Acharya</keyword> has said that increased <keyword id="127925" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="government-borrowing">government borrowing</keyword> will have an impact on corporate borrowing. </li><li>According to reports, Acharya has said that the country’s borrowing relative to its output has gone up from 67% to 85%.</li><li>Acharya had announced his resignation from the central bank in June.</li></ul>The <keyword id="6354335" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="reserve-bank-of-india">Reserve Bank of India</keyword>’s deputy governor Viral Acharya on his last day of office said that the <a href="https://www.ndtv.com/business/rbi-deputy-governor-viral-acharya-says-rise-in-government-borrowing-can-weigh-on-corporate-sector-2073656?pfrom=home-topscroll">increase</a> in government borrowing will have a heavy impact on the debt market. According to him, it will make it difficult and expensive for companies to borrow money. Acharya also <a href="https://www.ndtv.com/business/rbi-deputy-governor-viral-acharya-says-rise-in-government-borrowing-can-weigh-on-corporate-sector-2073656?pfrom=home-topscroll">said </a>that the country’s borrowing relative to its output has gone up from 67% in 2000 to 85% currently. Acharya announced his resignation from the central bank in June citing ‘unavoidable personal reasons’, six months before his three-year term ends. He will go back to teaching at New York University. Viral Acharya is the third high-profile person to have unexpectedly quit the RBI, since the NDA government came to power. Former RBI Governor Urijit Patel too left before his term ended, making him the first governor since 1990s to do so. Patel’s predecessor Raghuram Rajan’s term too was not extended, and he chose to go back to teaching at Chicago Booth School of Business.

Viral Acharya says increased government borrowing will make corporate loans costlier

Mumbai, Jul 5 () Urjit Patel, whose stint as the head of the central bank was one of the most tumultuous in recent times that ended with the rare event of an RBI Governor resigning, will be releasing a book later this month, his publishers have said. Titled 'Overdraft: Saving the Indian Saver', the book focuses on the non-performing assets (NPAs) issue that has afflicted Indian banking in recent years, its causes and Patel's efforts as the RBI Governor in dealing with it. "Urjit Patel invests his thirty years of macroeconomic experience in building strategies to protect our banks from unscrupulous racketeers, ultimately aimed at saving our savings...," publisher HarperCollins India tweeted. Patel's book description says that sovereigns do not need to earn or save before spending money. They can either print or borrow. "…in our country, where they own banks, they can use our deposits to lend and splurge for goals that may not always be economic in nature. Many rulers have succumbed to the temptation, with dire results - inflation, debased currency, payments crises, bankrupt banks, economic stagnation, loss of public confidence. "After centuries of ruinous experiences, some governments learnt, others haven't, to control themselves, create self-governing Central banks and let them manage money and regulate banks," it says. The issue of unsustainable bad debts started as a trickle in 2015 and then became a "flood", it said. "In the forefront were some of India's largest government banks, and a series of tycoons who were running their empires on unpaid debts." Patel worked with a '9R' strategy which would protect depositors' savings, rescue the banks and protect them from "unscrupulous racketeers", it says. Books or memoirs written by two of his immediate predecessors -- Raghuram Rajan and D Subbarao -- had shed light on various subjects like the RBI's autonomy, interest rates or its stance on demonetisation. Patel, under whose governorship the note ban was carried out, surprised all by resigning from the RBI in December 2018. The resignation came at a time when relations between the government and the RBI had soured, with the former threatening to invoke a never-before used clause to give directions to the central bank. The RBI under Patel was reportedly averse to the government's wishes on getting extra capital held by the central bank, restructuring loans to small businesses and providing liquidity support to the troubled non-bank lenders. Patel's resignation was followed by a long period of absence from public gaze. However last month, in a surprise move, he was appointed as the chairman of the Ministry of Finance-run think-tank NIPFP. Deputy governor Viral Acharya, who gave a strong speech asserting RBI's autonomy and warned the government of the "wrath of markets", also quit ahead of the completion of his term. Patel was seen as very strict on the issue of NPAs and governance at banks, especially the private sector ones, where the RBI replaced the heads of ICICI Bank and Axis Bank, and started probing Yes Bank more closely. The RBI had begun a thorough asset quality review (AQR) to find out the hidden stress on banks' books when Patel was a deputy governor and he carried forward the same work. Patel's book will be released by the end of July, as per a book selling website. AA ABM ABM

Former RBI governor Patel pens book on dealing with NPA issue

Mumbai, Jan 15 () Newly appointed RBI Deputy Governor Michael Debabrata Patra will look after the key monetary policy department along with seven other units, the central bank said after reshuffling portfolios of deputy governors.
Besides the governor, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has four deputy governors looking after different departments.
Patra, who was the executive director, took over the post that was lying vacant since June last year when Viral Acharya resigned.
As executive director, he was a member of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the RBI, which is invested with the responsibility of monetary policy decision making in India. He will continue to be an ex-officio member of the MPC as deputy governor.
As deputy governor, Patra will look after Monetary Policy Department including Forecasting and Modelling Unit (MPD/MU), the central bank said.
He is the second insider after S S Tarapore to become deputy governor in charge of monetary policy. Mostly, the position in the past has been given to external economists. 
His other portfolios include Financial Markets Operations Department, Financial Markets Regulation Department including Market Intelligence, International Department, Department of Economic and Policy Research, Department of Statistics and Information Management, Corporate Strategy and Budget Department and Financial Stability Unit.
The RBI further said Deputy Governor N S Vishwanathan will look after departments of co-ordination, regulation, communication, enforcement department, inspection department, and risk monitoring. He has also been assigned the job of Secretary's Department.
Ten departments including currency management, information technology, and foreign exchange, had been given to B P Kanungo.
Deputy Governor M K Jain will look after departments of supervision, financial inclusion, human resources, among others. 
Patra, a career central banker since 1985, has worked in various positions in Reserve Bank of India. 
A fellow of the Harvard University where he undertook post-doctoral research in the area of financial stability, Patra has a PhD in Economics from the Indian Institute of Technology, Mumbai. NKD CS
MKJ

Newly appointed Dy Guv Patra to look after RBI's monetary policy division

Mumbai, Mar 5 () RBI Deputy Governor N S Vishwanathan has decided to step down by March 31 due to ill health, three months before the end of his extended one-year tenure. While the Reserve Bank has accepted his request to be relieved by March 31, the same has to be accepted by the Cabinet as well, which is likely to happen any day given his health condition, a person in the know of the development said. His one-year extension was to end on July 3. RBI spokesperson Yogesh Dayal refused to confirm or deny the development. Sources said, despite ill health, the senior most deputy governor at the RBI was planning to leave by end-April, but the deteriorating health did not allow him. So he has asked for an early retirement. The 62-year-old has been in-charge of the key supervisory and regulatory functions at the Mint Road and it was this powerful position that led the government to offer him an extension given the mess in the banking system. The RBI's supervisory and regulatory powers came under criticism after IL&amp;FS, one of the largest NBFCs went belly up in September 2018. And then came the scam at the city-based Punjab &amp; Maharashtra Cooperative Bank in September 2019. Both incidents dented the image of RBI's regulatory prowess. After being appointed as the deputy governor on June 28, 2016 for a three-year-term, Vishwanathan has served under three governors -- Raghuram Rajan, Urjit Patel and Shantikanta Das. Before the elevation, he was an executive director of the central bank. Born in June 1958, he did his Master's in economics from the Bangalore University and joined the central bank in 1981. In July 2019, the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet re-appointed Vishwanathan for one year till July 3, 2020. If the resignation is accepted by the Cabinet, Vishwanathan will be second deputy governor to leave after Das took over as the governor in December 2018. Deputy Governor Viral Acharya left in June 2019. As deputy governor, Vishwanathan is heading the departments of banking regulation, co-operative banking regulation, non-banking regulation, Deposit Insurance &amp; Credit Guarantee Corporation, the financial stability unit, and departments of inspection, risk monitoring and also the secretary's department. Before he became the deputy governor, he was on a three-year deputation to the Bank of Mauritius, the central bank of Mauritius, as director of supervision. An RBI observer said his departure will pose a challenge for the central bank to navigate the key supervisory and regulatory functions in one of its most difficult times. He was one of the key supporters for governor Patel in getting the crippled state-run banks under prompt corrective action framework as also sending the largest defaulters for bankruptcy through the February 2018 circular (which was struck down by the Supreme Court last April). BEN ANUANU

Vishwanathan decides to step down as RBI deputy guv by Mar 31

Mumbai, Dec 31 () When the Narendra Modi government, stumped by the sudden resignation of Urjit Patel, parachuted retired bureaucrat Shaktikanta Das to RBI in December 2018, many expected a great lull in the public acrimony that marred the days of his academically more illustrious predecessors Patel and Raghuram Rajan.
 And 'the history graduate', as Das was parodied in his initial days, did not disappoint as the 25th governor of the central bank. He completed one year at the helm on December 12.
 But challenges are galore for the nation's chief money man as Das' record-setting rate cuts did not alleviate credit crisis, especially in the shadow banking space, and now turmoil in the cooperative banks sector due to the PMC scam.
 Also, falling growth and spiralling inflation are the other critical challenges facing the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in the New Year.
 So far this fiscal, bank credit has grown just 7.8 per cent, against 13.6 per cent a year ago and might plunge to a 58-year low of 6.5-7 per cent by March, if the latest projections are anything to go by.
 It was in fiscal 1962 when credit demand was lower than this on record. At that time, it stood at 5.4 per cent.
 Ironically, the more the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) slashed rates, the faster the economy turtled, hitting a 25-quarter low of 4.5 per cent in the September quarter.
 Even as it eased the rates, the RBI slashed growth estimates by an unprecedented 240 basis points since the rate cutting cycle began in February to a low of 5 per cent.
 Similar has been its loss of face on the inflation front, which, after hovering under the glide path for a few years, has suddenly screeched up and is now pegged sharply higher at 5.1-4.7 per cent for 2020.
 Das, who as the economic affairs secretary managed the note ban mayhem with elan both for the government and the RBI, could temper the raising tempers between the central bank and the government, was primarily because he gave in a lot of space to North Block.
 Be it the historic cash transfers by setting up the Bimal Jalan panel in December 2018 itself or taking some of the crippled state-run banks out of the RBI radar or in getting a new NPA framework in place by June 2019 or in opening a special financing window for MSMEs.
 Under his governorship, Das silenced the ever-hungry market and North Block mandarins with 135 basis points reduction in interest rates through five successive rate cuts.
 However, the central bank's youngest Deputy Governor ever -- Viral Acharya -- quit six months before his three-year term was to end in June 2019.
 But those who know Das, including the RBI staff, fully back his working style and glasnost.
 RBI Central Board member Sachin Chaturvedi described Das as a person who brings in pragmatism, commitment, transparency and sincerity to the table.
 "Das has succeeded in getting government and other functionaries together and has made the board a cohesive platform," he told .
 Das also settled the autonomy issue -- most contentious of all -- and had said that so far as decision-making is concerned or taking a final call on any issue, they are taken by the RBI and is more than 100 per cent autonomous in decision-making.
 "Nobody interferes in my decision-making," Das said in September.
 The RBI, under Das, has been instrumental in diversifying liquidity management toolkit by launching the dollar-rupee swap auctions -- buying dollars and releasing equivalent amount of rupees into the system to ease liquidity.
 And the latest in containing rupee volatility and bond spikes are the open market operations twist under which RBI buys and sells equal quantum of gilts.
 Allowing non-residents to participate in rupee interest rate derivatives markets and making NEFT 24x7 and free are among the other decisions this year.
 RBI also put its foot down when it declined to raise the retirement age of private sector bank CEOs from 75 years, refused green-signal to Indiabulls' takeover bid for the crippled Lakshmi Vilas Bank and said no to Uday Kotak's convoluted stake dilution move at Kotak Mahindra Bank. The last matter is now before the Bombay High Court.
 The apex bank also got regulatory powers of the NHB following the crisis at DHFL, also the first non-banking finance company to be referred for insolvency proceedings.
 It also forced banks to link all fresh retail loans to an external benchmark, following which repo rate was made as their benchmark for loan pricing.
 While the RBI should be credited for seeing the slowdown coming and cutting rates, the apparent fault was in not anticipating severity of the economic slump.
 However, the central bank unexpectedly paused rate cuts in December. It indicates the RBI is waiting for the budget on quality of fiscal deficit and quantum of off-balance-sheet borrowings, among others.
 Having worked with three finance ministers, Das also made the long and stormy RBI board meetings into non-events in no time with his consultative process even as he made it clear that the central bank is not a "cheer leader" for anyone.
 All said, it is difficult to say now whether it has been a year of floccinaucinihilipilification or that Das maintained a Panglossian countenance, smiling away at every difficulty.
 Monetary Policy Committee's Chetan Ghate had used the 29-letter word --floccinaucinihilipilification -- which refers to an action of estimating something as worthless.
 The New Year might have a clear if not direct answer to Panglossian ways. BEN HV RAM BAL ANS
ANS

History behind, Das-led RBI charts new trails sans acrimony

<ul><li><keyword id="42575" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Arun-Jaitley">Arun Jaitley</keyword>, India’s finance minister, has criticised the RBI for “not doing enough” to prevent the build-up of bad loans at the country’s banks between 2008 and 2014. </li><li>Some may say that this is an unfair assertion from Jaitley as the build-up in bad loans stemmed from a lapses in governance at state-owned banks and politically-motivated lending to power and infrastructure projects. </li><li>As per the latest Financial Stability Report from the RBI, bad loans constituted 13% of all outstanding loans in India. </li></ul>The <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/indias-government-wants-to-dilute-an-important-corrective-programme-for-the-nations-struggling-lenders-and-the-central-bank-is-having-none-of-it/articleshow/66411552.cms">ongoing feud</a> between the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and the Modi administration took a sharp turn yesterday as Arun Jaitley, India’s finance minister, criticised the central bank for <a href="https://failover-www.livemint.com/Industry/AldKkqkSXvYE53W9W7KBeK/Arun-Jaitley-hits-back-at-RBI-says-it-allowed-lending-exces.html">“not doing enough”</a> to prevent the build-up of bad loans at the country’s banks between 2008 and 2014. Some may say that this is an unfair assertion from Jaitley. The RBI has consistently lobbied for more decision-making powers when it comes to regulating the banking sector, as indicated by the deputy-governor Viral Acharya’s speech last week wherein he issued a warning about the problem of government interference. In Jaitley’s defense, though, the RBI only got wind of the problem in <a href="https://indianexpress.com/article/business/business-others/rbis-asset-quality-review-deep-surgery-starting-to-show-results-2838340/">early 2016 </a>following a comprehensive asset quality review of the entire banking sector as a whole. This reportedly followed a written note <a href="https://www.business-standard.com/article/economy-policy/rti-confirms-rajan-sent-pm-modi-list-of-bank-defaulters-in-february-2015-118103100243_1.html">in February 2015</a> sent by <keyword id="6358908" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="raghuram-rajan">Raghuram Rajan</keyword>, the RBI governor at the time, to the Prime Minister’s Office indicating a need to assess several key bad loan accounts. During the boom years under the UPA regime leading up to the 2008-09 financial crisis, a wave of optimism drove an unprecedented surge in lending as credit grew by as much as 30% compared to a traditional average of 14%. A significant portion of this, was politically motivated as large loans were extended to infrastructure and power projects run by people with strong political connections. However, as the financial crisis hit, projects became delayed and defaults became regular, banks understated these problems and categorised bad loans as “restructured loans”. This pointed to a failure of governance, especially at state-owned banks, - an issue that the RBI <a href="https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/economy/policy/rbi-needs-more-powers-to-oversee-psb-governor-urjit-patel-to-parliamentary-panel/articleshow/64557380.cms">has been vocal about addressing</a> in the last few years provided it is given more supervisory powers. India’s <keyword id="919276" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="non-performing-loan">non-performing loan</keyword> problem is well documented. As per the latest Financial Stability Report from the RBI, bad loans constituted <a href="https://rbidocs.rbi.org.in/rdocs/PublicationReport/Pdfs/0FSR_JUNE2018A3526EF7DC8640539C1420D256A470FC.PDF">13%</a> of all outstanding loans in India. At the end of the previous financial year, total bad loans on the balance sheets of Indian banks reached <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/indias-bad-loan-problem-continues-to-break-records/articleshow/64601136.cms">₹10.3 trillion</a>, 85-90% of which are accounted for by state-owned banks. This marks a 25% jump from 2016-17 as banks wrote off a record ₹1.44 trillion worth of unrecoverable loans. There has, however, been a slight improvement in the year so far, with bad loans declining by <a href="https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/business/india-business/bad-loans-worth-rs-36551-crore-recovered-in-q1-npas-declined-by-rs-21000-crore-arun-jaitley/articleshow/66031537.cms">₹210 billion</a> in the quarter ended June 2018. The statements from Jaitley, which are characteristic of a government used to apportioning blame for past problems, signal an acceleration in tensions between the RBI and the central government. This may result in the resignation of <keyword id="6375119" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="urjit-patel">Urjit Patel</keyword>, the RBI’s governor, <a href="https://www.livemint.com/Industry/vRPIGQUwa229NzVIIE29pO/RBI-chief-Urjit-Patel-may-consider-resigning-after-rift-with.html">as per media reports</a>. This would be unfortunate. The conflict between the RBI and the central government is long overdue. While it may cause some short-term volatility to Indian markets, the RBI’s case for greater independence is bound to resonate across the world. India faces some significant financial headwinds, be it a depreciating currency, a slowdown in credit growth, a a liquidity crunch or shrinking foreign reserves, and an independent regulator is the need of the hour. The central bank needs to adopt a long-term approach to solving these problems as opposed to short-term fixes generally favoured by governments.

The spat between India’s central bank and the government gets more heated as the finance minister blames it for not doing enough to prevent the country’s bad loan problem

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