C Rangarajan nominated to Rajya Sabha

Chakravarthi Rangarajan, noted economist and former RBI Governor, fills the nominated seat which had fallen vacant in the Upper House after the death of Nirmala Deshpande.

Chakravarthi Rangarajan, noted economist and former RBI Governor, has been nominated to the Rajya Sabha, an honour bestowed on eminent people.

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Rangarajan(76), who resigned last week as the chairman of the elite Economic Advisory Council to the prime minister, will be an independent member.

He fills the nominated seat which had fallen vacant in the Upper House after the death of eminent Gandhian Nirmala Deshpande.

"I will make contributions to discussions on economic issues. I should be able to support policies that help to accelerate growth, reduce poverty and improve employment opportunities," Rangarajan told PTI.

A confidante of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Rangarajan has been advising the government on various critical issues like special economic zones, oil prices, futures trading, prices of farm commodities.

A doctorate in economics from the University of Pennsylvania, Rangarajan also served as Governor of Andhra Pradesh and was Chairman of the Twelfth Finance Commission.

He is also a recipient of Padma Vibhushan, the country's second highest civilian award.