Out not down: Indian central bank governor Raghuram Rajan defends his record
Rajan also strongly defended the upcoming introduction of a monetary policy panel to set interest rates saying "the rewards will be many."
Tells critics of his monetary policy reforms they can't have it 'both ways'
Reserve Bank of India chief Raghuram Rajan on Monday defended his record in fighting inflation, and made a case for themonetary policy reforms he has championed, in his first public appearance since announcing thathe will step down at the end of his tenure in September.
In a speech, the outgoinggovernor of India's central bank, Reserve Bank of India,addressed critics who have accused him of keeping interest rates too high, saying they cannot "have it both ways, want lower inflation as well as lower policy rates."
"The fact that inflation is fairly close to the upper bound of our target zone today suggests we have not been overly hawkishand were wise to disregard advice in the past to cut more deeply," Rajan said.
Consumer inflation hit a near two-year high of 5.76 per cent in May, or the upper end of the central bank's inflation target of 2 per cent to 6 per cent.
Rajan also strongly defended the upcoming introduction of a monetary policy panel to set interest rates,a policy he has championed,saying "the rewards will be many", including a more stable policy framework.
(Reuters)