RBI Governor-Designate: Focus on Economy, All Perspectives

New Delhi, Dec 10 (PTI) Revenue Secretary Sanjay Malhotra on Tuesday said he will work to understand all perspectives and do what is best for the economy after he takes charge as the RBI Governor on December 11.

Responding to reporters' queries outside the finance ministry, Malhotra said, "One has to understand the turf, all perspectives and do what's best for the economy."

Malhotra, 56, who is currently the Revenue Secretary in the Ministry of Finance, was on Monday evening named by the government to succeed Shaktikanta Das as the governor of the central bank.

A 1990-batch IAS officer of the Rajasthan cadre, Malhotra, has more than three decades of experience in public policy with expertise in areas like power, finance, and taxation.

He takes guard at a time when the Indian economy is faced with the dual challenge of slowing growth rate and high inflation.

While Das kept benchmark interest rates unchanged for almost two years in a bid to control inflation, the incoming governor is said to be a team player who believes prices cannot be managed by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) alone and the task needs government help as well.

He takes over as the 26th governor of the RBI at a time when it is under pressure to cut interest rates to support growth.

The GDP growth slowed to a seven-quarter low of 5.4 per cent in the July-September period while the inflation accelerated to a 14-month high of 6.21 per cent in October.

The government-mandated inflation target for the RBI is 4 per cent, plus or minus two percentage points.