(Dr. C. Rangarajan an renowned
economist and a distinguished former Member of Parliament and Former Governor
of the Reserve Bank of India. Currently, he is the Chairman of the Prime
Minister's Economic Advisory Council.)
liberalisation,
Rangarajan said the opening up of the Indian economy to more foreign direct
investment was “desirable” and added that efforts should be made to convince
people on its merits. Increasing the cap on foreign investment in sectors like
insurance, as also a further liberalisation of India’s financial sector as a whole
was the need of the hour. Earlier in the day, before stepping down as the
chairman of Prime Minister’s Economic Advisory Council, he projected a slight
dip in India’s growth at 7.7 percent for the current fiscal. “The downside risk
to our growth expectations in 2008-09 is primarily from a further deterioration
in global conditions with attendant impact on India - be it in the sphere of
oil prices or capital markets,” the panel’s report said. Dr. Chakravarthi
Rangarajan is born in 1932. He is an Indian economist. He served for over a
decade as a Deputy Governor of the Reserve Bank of India, after which he served
as the Governor of the Reserve Bank of India between December 22, 1992 and December
21, 1997. He also served as the Governor of Andhra Pradesh from 24 November
1997 to 3 January 2003. After demitting that office, he took charge as the
Chairman of the Twelfth Finance Commission. From 2005 onwards, he was the
Chairman of the Prime Minister's Economic Advisory Council. In August 2008, he
resigned as the Chairman of the Prime Minister's Economic Advisory Council and
was nominated as a member of the Rajya Sabha. He is succeeded by Prof. Suresh
D. Tendulkar. While serving as the governor of Andhra Pradesh, he also received
additional charges as governor of Orissa from 1998 to 1999 and as governor of
Tamil Nadu from 2001 to 2002. He was the deputy governor of the Reserve Bank of
India from 1982 to 1991. He obtained his Ph.D. in economics from the University
of Pennsylvania in 1964. He has teaching experience at institutions such as the
University of Pennsylvania ,the Indian School of Business and the IIM-A. He was
awarded the title of Honorary Fellow of IIM-A in 1997. In 2002, the Government
of India awarded him the Padma Vibhushan, India's second highest civilian
award. Presently, he is a member of the Rajya Sabha and Chairman of the Madras
School of Economics, Chennai.
