As Raghuram Rajan exits, a number of names are doing the rounds for the next RBI Governor - included in the list are two Arvinds (Panagariya and Subramanian), both sympathetic to Modi government policy, Urjit Patel, Deputy Governor at the RBI, SBI Chief Arundhati Bhattacharya, anti-corruption champion Vinod Rai, and bureaucrat Sumit Bose, best known for his SEBI report on bringing more transparency and fairness for customers in the mutual fund sector.
Arvind Panagariya is widely perceived to be the frontrunner, although officials in the government have remarked that they may favor a bureaucrat over an economist this time around. Arvind Panagariya has praised the Gujarat Model in a book he co-authored with Jagadish Bhagwati, and is in favor of lowering interest rates, which has been a sticking point between Raghuram Rajan and Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, with Rajan resisting the government's push to lower interest rates in the face of inflation.
Vinod Rai is another strong contender - Rai became a symbol of anti-corruption efforts in India with his work on the 2G report and his active push for greater accountability in government.
Arvind Subramanian and Urjit Patel, aged 57 and 52 years are the youngest candidates on the list. (Click on the infographic to see more).
