RBI assigns & appoints Kanungo in Acharya’s responsibility

Mumbai, July 24 (IANS) The vacuum in the team of Monetary Policy Committee (MPC), after the resignation of Viral Acharya from Deputy Governor post of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), has been filled by another Deputy Governor B.P. Kanungo.

Without appointing a new DG, the RBI on Tuesday reshuffled the portfolios of the other three deputy governors giving the important monetary policy and forecasting department to Kanungo.

The monetary policy department, including forecasting and modelling unit, was earlier looked after by Acharya, who resigned his stint as the deputy governor after last month.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) said on Tuesday it had assigned Deputy Governor B.P. Kanungo to run the monetary policy portfolio after the resignation of fellow Deputy Governor Viral Acharya.

Kanungo, who will retain his currency management portfolio, would become the sixth member of the RBI's Monetary Policy Committee, which will next convene on August 5-7.

Acharya, who is also a professor at New York University's Stern School of Business, left the RBI six months before the scheduled end of his term, citing personal reasons for his departure.

"A few weeks ago, Acharya submitted a letter to the RBI informing that due to unavoidable personal circumstances, he is unable to continue his term as a Deputy Governor of the RBI beyond July 23, 2019," RBI had said in a statement.

All the other three deputy governors - N.S. Vishwanathan, B.P. Kanungo and M.K. Jain - have been made responsible for 12 departments each.

In addition to his earlier portfolios, Kanungo will also look after economic and policy research and statistics and information management. Kanungo would become the sixth member of the RBI's Monetary Policy Committee, which will next convene on 5-7 August.

The RBI, headed by Governor Shaktikanta Das, has four deputy governors.