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Delhi University graduate appointed to Bank of England

Delhi University graduate appointed to Bank of England

CHANCELLOR Rishi Sunak has appointed a Delhi School of Economics alumna as an external member of the monetary policy committee (MPC) of the Bank of England.

Swati Dhingra's appointment to the central bank comes amid the UK’s fight to tame the post-pandemic inflation, amplified by the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Dhingra, an associate professor of economics at the London School of Economics, succeeds Michael Saunders and her three-year term will start on August 9, the government said in a statement.

A known critic of Brexit, she had said in a recent paper that the event was “the biggest reversal of deep international economic integration in the modern era”.

Sunak said Dhingra’s experience in international economics will bring “valuable new expertise” to the MPC.

“I am delighted to appoint her to this role and look forward to seeing her contribution to policymaking in the coming years”.

Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey said her insights, perspective and extensive research in international economics will benefit the central bank.

Dhingra is an elected member of the Council of the Royal Economic Society and a Research Fellow of the Centre for Economic Policy Research.

She received her undergraduate degree from the University of Delhi, her MA from the Delhi School of Economics and her MS and PhD from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Dhingra, who served as a member of the UK’s Trade Modelling Review Expert Panel, is a director of The Royal Mint Museum and a member of the Steering Group for The Economy 2030 Inquiry.

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20 per cent service charges in Britain were mainly for large groups or luxury room service.

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Gordon Ramsay's Lucky Cat's 20 per cent service charge puts Britain's restaurant cost crisis in focus

Highlights

  • Service charges are doing the work that menu price rises used to do.
  • One in five UK hospitality businesses fear collapse within the next 12 months.
  • Diners can legally ask for the charge to be removed at the point of payment.
Diners at Gordon Ramsay's Lucky Cat restaurant on New Year's Eve were already paying £140 for a chef's sushi selection and £138 for Japanese A5 sirloin.
Spiced lamb chops were priced at £50. From its perch on Level 60 of 22 Bishopsgate, the restaurant offers 350-degree views across London, and bills to match.

What some diners may not have noticed straight away was a single line at the bottom of the menu, printed small: a discretionary service charge of 20 per cent added to the total bill.

The charge is among the highest seen at a British restaurant and sits well above what other well-known chefs typically apply.

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