The government said on Tuesday it had appointed Ram Singh, Saugata Bhattacharya and Nagesh Kumar as new members of the central bank’s rate-setting monetary policy committee.
The three new external members have been appointed for a four-year term with immediate effect, according to a statement.
The six-member MPC, which consists of three driven and three external members, will meet from October 7 to 9. At its August policy meeting, the MPC kept the repo rate (INREPO=ECI) unchanged at 6.50 percent for the ninth consecutive time.
The MPC is chaired by driven governor.
Ram Singh is Director of the Delhi School of Economics and has experience in teaching, research and publications. Nagesh Kumar is the director of the Institute of Industrial Development Studies.
Saugata Bhattacharya is an economist specializing in economic and financial market analysis and policy advocacy.
The term of the current external members – Ashima Goyal, Shashanka Bhide and Jayanth Varma – was due to end on October 4.
The shakeup could change a recent divided view within the panel in which two of the six members voted in favor of a rate cut on the grounds that high real inflation-adjusted rates could hurt the economy’s growth.
A restructured committee could also choose to take a different view, focusing on global conditions, where concerns about the slowdown have led the US Federal Reserve to cut interest rates last month.
In addition to external members, driven Governor Shaktikanta Das and his two deputies will step down.
Governor Das’ second term ends on December 10 and another extension would be unprecedented.
A month later, Deputy Governor Michael Patra, who heads the central bank’s monetary policy division, will also complete an expanded mandate.
Another deputy governor, Rajeshwar Rao, who heads the banking regulation department, will end his term in early October.
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