Niti Aayog vice-chairman Arvind Panagariya in RBI Governor race

Mumbai/Delhi: Several names are doing the rounds for a successor to RBI governor Raghuram Rajan. The front-runner according to circles in Delhi is said to be Arvind Panagariya, protégé of the eminent economist Jagdish Bhagwati and Niti Aayog vice-chairman.

“While Mr Panagariya is professor of Economics at Columbia University, as vice-chairman of Niti Aayog he has gained  experience in how the Centre knows the thinking of the Modi  government and what trajectory it wants to take,” sources said.

He is known to be in favour of lowering interest rates and had often voiced this, the latest being in January. Mr Panagariya had earlier co-authored a book India’s Tryst with Destiny with Mr Bhagwati which praised Gujarat’s growth model.

Some feel that Dr Rajan’s successor would more likely be a person who would have to be acceptable to the Sangh Parivar if the appointments to the Nift and the FTII are any indication.