Ignoring talent and ensuring mediocrity isn't nationalism: Raghuram Rajan

NEW DELHI: Taking a jibe at 'nationalists', former governor of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Raghuram G Rajan has said ignoring talent and ensuring mediocrity isn't nationalism. During a candid interview with ET Now, Rajan said people should not be suspicious about economists with degrees from foreign universities.

After the GDP data in March showed demonetisation did not affect growth rate, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had said that hard work was more powerful than Harvard, referring to economists trained in foreign universities but lacking in dedication to their jobs.

Rajan said it was unfair to call people from abroad as fair-weather friends. In an interview a few days ago, Rajan had said, "Let me also add that sometimes there is a notion that we are fair-weather friends, who come when times are good and leave as soon as our leave expires. I didn't leave when my leave expired; there was absolutely no issue about extending my leave, if necessary. I left when the government and I could not agree on terms for me to stay on. In that sense, the notion that we come to India for our sabbaticals is just not an appropriate criticism."

Responding to criticism of his remarks on the intolerance debate during a speech he made at IIT-Delhi in 2015, Rajan said in his interview to ET Now that India's strength was tolerance and it would be a mistake to give it up and go backwards. He said he would not change a word in his speech at IIT.