I am the boss, fire me if you want: Raghuram Rajan

New Delhi: Asserting independence of the central bank, Reserve Bank governor Raghuram Rajan on Friday said that it is he who determines the monetary policy and the government can fire him if it wanted.

“I determine the monetary policy. I say what it is. The government can fire me, but the government doesn’t set the monetary policy. So, in that sense, am I independent! Well, I am happy to talk to the government. I am happy to listen to the government but ultimately the interest rate that is set is set by me,” he said in Switzerland.

Dr Rajan was replying to a question on how much independence and real power he enjoyed as RBI governor during a programme that was broadcast on Bloomberg TV. The central bank, he said, works with the finance ministry and he has regular conversations with the finance minister.

“We (RBI) control the monetary policy. In India, when we want to do something big, we go, tell the government this is what we want to do and the government is usually supportive,” he said.