Shaktikanta Das, the new Reserve Bank of India Governor, said he plans to talk to all stakeholders, including the government, to discuss all economic issues but added he was clear that maintaining the autonomy of the central bank was important.
At his first press conference, Das said he will begin by talking to heads of public sector banks, followed by private sector bank chiefs.
He termed three issues as important — inflation, bank lending and liquidity — and said that while the central bank had continued to manage these well so far, the focus would remain on them.
Das, a career bureaucrat, was named the RBI’s 25th Governor a day after Urjit Patel quit following a publicised spat with the government on various issues, including whether the central bank should part with some of its reserves.
Das said it was too soon for him to comment on many of those issues.
The Reserve Bank of India’s board meeting, scheduled for December 14, is on track, he said.
