RBI postpones Monetary Policy meeting as the hunt for three new MPC members continues

• The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has postponed the upcoming meeting of Monetary Policy Committee (MPC).
• The new dates will be announced ‘shortly’, according to the notice issued by India’s apex bank.
• The government is yet to announce its new nominations for the committee with the tenure of the current external members — Ravindra Dholakia, Pami Dua and Chetan Gate — set to expire on September 30.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has postponed the meeting of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) that was scheduled to take place starting September 29 through to October 1.

The new dates will be announced ‘shortly’, according to the RBI’s notice. Even though the central bank did not specify why it had to push the meeting forward, it’s likely because the new members of the MPC haven’t been announced yet.

The tenure for three of the external members — Ravindra Dholakia, Pami Dua and Chetan Gate — is set to expire on September 30.

Government yet to announce MPC’s new faces
The MPC consists of 6 members. Three members are from the central bank and the other three are external — nominated by the government. The central government members each hold a term of four years from the date of appointment and are not eligible for re-appointment.

The MPC recently replaced Janak Raj, an executive director at the RBI and MPC member who retired in June, with Mridul Saggar.

The RBI had earlier approached the government to extend the tenure for these three till 31 March 2021 in view of the coronavirus pandemic. But, the government turned the request down.

A panel headed by the Department of Economic Affairs secretary Tarun Bajaj is currently on the lookout for new eligible candidates. The search committee also includes RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das.

However, the government is yet to announce the new names for external MPC members.

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