Reserve Bank of India Governor Goes Far Too Quietly
It’s natural that Urjit Patel couldn’t stomach the attack on the RBI’s autonomy. But he should reveal what the government is telling it to do.
Urjit Patel’s decision to quit the Reserve Bank of India has a certain nobility. But he could at least have told us what's going on there.
Photographer: Dhiraj Singh/Bloomberg
People who know Urjit Patel, the Reserve Bank of India governor, told me he would stay on and fight. That was in late October, when it became clear from his deputy’s speech that New Delhi was making a determined attempt to curtail the RBI’s authority as a banking regulator, and even to raid its capital.
But after a November meeting of the institution’s board, it looked like the central bank and the government had decided not to bring matters to a head and Patel, whose term expires in September 2019, would stick around. The truce was short-lived. Citing personal reasons, the governor said on Monday that he’d be stepping down immediately, just days before another crucial meeting of the RBI board. The terse resignation note made no attempt to thank the country’s finance minister or Prime Minister Narendra Modi, both of whom said goodbye to Patel on Twitter.