1) Reserve Bank of India’s Raghuram Rajan puts rupee convertibility back on agenda
Fresh from his success in securing a mandated inflation target, Reserve Bank of India Governor Raghuram Rajan has revived another long dormant reform as he seeks to modernise India’s financial architecture: a freely floating currency. Rajan called in April for full convertibility in “a short number of years”, having first raised the prospect when he took office in 2013. While it is unlikely to be realised during his current term, he is laying the ground work for it to happen.
A policymaker familiar with Rajan’s views described convertibility as the governor’s “next big ambitious goal”. The RBI did not have an immediate comment on the subject.
The move is in tune with the nationalist government’s ambitions to increase India’s weight on the international stage; even if economic....
