In his last policy as the Reserve Bank of India governor, Raghuram Rajan said he has nothing to say to his critics and was leaving satisfied with a “fantastic experience”.
“I have enjoyed every minute of it…The most important thing is that at the end of the day you feel you have made useful contribution. And some people are better off as a result of that. I think from that perspective this has been a fantastic job,” Rajan said.
When asked to respond to his critics, he said, “I have nothing to say...critics are there all the time. (But) there are also people who send messages in the plane from the back, anonymous notes saying thank you for what you are doing. So you get both the sides, that’s part of the job, you have to take it as costs and benefits.”
Rajan, who completes his three-year term as the RBI chief on September 4, has chosen to not seek a second term amid criticism from Subramanian Swamy, a member of Parliament from BJP.
So far Rajan has refrained from commenting on Swamy or any other critics who have targeted him for not cutting interest rates, alleging that the high rates were stifling growth.
{{/usCountry}}So far Rajan has refrained from commenting on Swamy or any other critics who have targeted him for not cutting interest rates, alleging that the high rates were stifling growth.
{{/usCountry}}On Tuesday, the RBI kept the key policy rates unchanged at 6.50%.
“Snap judgments either by critics or supporters aren’t really what matter. What matters is what how this plays out in the longer run for stronger and sustainable growth for the country, for job creation, our movement into the middle income,” he said.
Rajan said he has enjoyed every bit of his job partly because there was some movement forward.
“You leave the office saying we did something and there are very few places where you can have that sense of satisfaction. I think, this has been a fantastic experience and I hope that there are some values added,” he said.
On his future plans, Rajan said, he is yet to decide on that. “I will just go back to my previous employment structure where I used to work at the University of Chicago but also have a considerable involvement in different Indian courses. Earlier for example, I was involved with Indian school of business. Let see going forward what I do but I haven’t made plans yet.”