PM confident of Raghuram Rajan's ability to guide RBI

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Saturday called for evolving a fresh thinking on Reserve Bank of India's monetary policy in a globalised economy and dealing with the constraints of its macro economic policies.

"The time has come to look at the possibilities and limitations of the monetary policy in a globalised economy and dealing with the constraints of the macro economic problems. That is where a fresh thinking is called for," he said.

"I think Raghuram Rajan (governor designate) will evolve a policy with the help of professional persons for a national consensus if we have to carry on with implementing social and economic changes in a complex economy," Singh said.

The remarks assume significance in the context of the raging debate over RBI's hawkish policy stance on checking inflation vis a vis government priority on growth.

Singh was speaking after releasing "RBI History - Looking Back and Looking Ahead", the fourth volume of 78-year-old central bank's history, at a simple function at his Race Course residence.

The subject also came up in the speech of outgoing RBI Governor Duvvuri Subbarao, who in his welcome address, said the debate on growth-inflation balance has been clouded by some "oversimplifications".

The function was attended by a galaxy of personalities including former RBI Governors -- Amitabha Ghosh, C Rangarajan, Bimal Jalan, Y V Reddy -- present and former deputy governors and Ministers of State for Finance Namo Narain Meena and J D Seelam.