No Comments: Governor Patel on RBI-Govt rift

MUMBAI: Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Urjit Patel, who was facing the national media for the first time since last month’s highly publicised meet of the regulator’s board, ducked questions on the rift between the central bank and New Delhi over the transfer of reserves to the government and the RBI’s governance structure.

“We are here to discuss monetary policy and macro economy,” Patel told the media on Wednesday at the customary press conference in Mumbai after the fifth bi-monthly monetary policy of FY19.

Unlike predecessor Raghuram Rajan, who frequently communicated with all the financial markets stakeholders, Patel has largely stayed away from the public eye. He not only avoids the media in general, but has also discouraged corporate lobby groups from interacting with him.


“It is this non-communication that has, perhaps, led to all the trouble with the government,” a bank CEO said, on the condition of anonymity.

Since Patel took over as central bank governor, the previously customary prepolicy meetings with bankers and market economists have become rather rare.

The central bank and the government appeared to have reached a truce at the board meeting mid-November, with New Delhi acknowledging the role of the RBI as the banking referee while seeking to assert its authority on policy matters.