Indranil Bhattacharyya named new MPC member

MUMBAI: The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Friday named executive director Indranil Bhattacharyya as the newest internal member of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC), a panel that decides on the policy interest rate in India.Bhattacharyya's nomination as the ex-officio member of the MPC was approved by the RBI's central bank board, it said in a statement on Friday.Bhattacharyya will replace Rajiv Ranjan, who is due for retirement before the next MPC meeting that is due to take place between September 29 and October 1.The six-member MPC is equally divided between RBI representatives and external nominees, with RBI Governor Sanjay Malhotra having the casting vote in case of a tie.Bhattacharyya was appointed the RBI's executive director in March. He has nearly three decades of experience across areas such as monetary policy, fiscal policy, banking, and international economic relations. A postgraduate in economics from Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, Bhattacharyya's research interests are primarily in the areas such as monetary theory and policy, financial markets, market microstructure and fiscal policy.Bhattacharyya's appointment comes when the flexible inflation targeting (FIT) framework is under review.