(COLOMBO, LANKAPUVATH) – India’s central bank governor Urjit Patel has resigned from his post citing “personal reasons”.
His resignation comes amid reports of a rift between the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government.
This marks a rare case of a serving governor leaving his job midway through his three-year term.
Correspondents say the move is likely to undermine confidence in the economy and cause the rupee to fall.
Although India’s $2.6tn (€2.3tn; £2tn) economy has recently been boosted by a strong performance in consumer spending and manufacturing, the rupee has already fallen significantly against the surging dollar so far this year, private investment remains slack and there are doubts on whether the economy will accelerate further, says the BBC’s Soutik Biswas in Delhi.
India will vote in a general election in the first half of next year, with polls due by May.
