Government appoints Raghuram Rajan as new CEA

NEW DELHI: The government has appointed former IMF chief economist and currently Chicago University professor Raghuram G Rajan as Chief Economic Advisor in the Finance Ministry.

The Appointments Committee of Cabinet has cleared the appointment of Rajan as the new CEA yesterday, sources said.

Rajan, known for his frank views, was also honorary economic advisor to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. At present, he is a professor at University of Chicago's Booth School of Business. He is also highly acclaimed for predicting the 2008 global financial crisis.

An alumni of IIM-Ahmedabad and IIT-Delhi, Rajan did is doctorate from Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

The position of the CEA has been lying vacant since Kaushik Basu's term ended on July 31. Basu would now return as a professors at Cornell University.

Rajan was also involved with the report on Financial Sector Reforms, which was authorised by the Planning Commission.