Anand Sinha to be next RBI dy governor

Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Executive Director Anand Sinha is set to replace Usha Thorat as deputy governor.

Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee has recommended Sinha's candidature to the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC).

A selection committee headed by RBI Governor D Subbarao had also recommended Sinha as the number one candidate on the panel, ahead of VK Sharma, the senior-most executive director.

Earlier this month, the committee had interviewed six of the seven executive directors for the job that falls due in November. The seventh executive director, C Krishnan, who was also called, declined to appear before the committee.

A deputy governor is appointed for a period of five years or till the age of 62, whichever is earlier.

Sinha, if cleared by ACC, will be the fourth deputy governor in the central bank. Of the four, two are RBI officers. Shyamala Gopinath, who was given a second term last year, is an RBI officer like Thorat, while Subir Gokarn is an economist and KC Chakrabarty a former public sector bank chief.

Unlike Gopinath, the government decided against giving an extension to Thorat, who oversees the department of banking operations and development, banking supervision, currency management, rural planning and credit department, among others. However, Sinha may not get the same departments as Thorat.