Govt Appoints Ashima Goyal, Jayanth R Varma, Shashanka Bhide As MPC Members

The new members replace Chetan Ghate, professor at the Indian Statistical Institute; Pami Dua, director at the Delhi School of Economics (DSE); and Ravindra Dholakia, professor at the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad. As per the RBI Act, the external members can hold office for a period of four years and are not eligible for re-appointment.

The other ex-officio members of the MPC are Reserve Bank Governor, Deputy Governor (in-charge of monetary policy) and one RBI officer to be appointed by the central board. The MPC has been given the mandate to maintain annual inflation at 4 per cent until March 31, 2021, with an upper tolerance of 6 per cent and a lower tolerance of 2 per cent.

The external members of the MPC are appointed by the central government from amongst persons of ability, integrity and standing, having knowledge and experience in the field of economics, banking, finance or monetary policy. The last meeting of the MPC was held from August 4 to 6, 2020. It was the 24th meeting of the rating-setting panel.