Business

India’s Finance Minister Hits Back At RBI, Says It Allowed Lending Excesses

Jaitley was publicly critical of the RBI on Tuesday, saying the central bank’s lax policies had contributed to banks’ current woes (Photo: SAJJAD HUSSAIN/AFP/Getty Images).

By: Radhakrishna N S

India’s finance minister Arun Jaitley blamed country’s central bank, Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Tuesday (30) for failing to stop a lending spree between 2008-2014 that left banks with huge debts, inflaming a row that recently erupted between the government and the central bank. On Friday (26), RBI deputy governor Viral Acharya warned that undermining a central bank’s independence could be “potentially catastrophic”, in an indication that it is pushing back hard against government pressure to relax its policies and reduce its powers ahead of a general election due by next May. Government officials were very upset by Acharya’s comments,…

You do not have access to this content. You need to subscribe.