Govt will have to decide on 4 key appointments soon | India News – Times of India

NEW DELHI: The Centre will have to decide on four key appointments in as many months, starting with a replacement for G S Murmu, whose term as Comptroller and Auditor General is due to end in November. A trusted Modi government bureaucrat is likely to bag the coveted assignment to keep a watch over the Centre’s spending and accounts.
While Murmu can’t be given a fresh term, the other three incumbents — Reserve Bank of India governor, chief economic adviser and Sebi chairperson — can be reappointed. After CAG, govt has to decide if it wants to give another stint to Shaktikanta Das in Dec or look for a replacement for the crucial job on Mumbai’s Mint Road.
Das, a former civil servant, was given a three-year term in December 2018 after Urjit Patel’s sudden resignation following a bitter tussle with govt. Das was given a second term three years ago and is widely seen to have managed the financial sector well and has had a smooth relationship with the Centre, something his two predecessors could not manage.
A month after the RBI appointment, govt will be faced with the same question on whether to continue with chief economic adviser V Anantha Nageswaran. Given that the budget exercise kicks off in the next few weeks, govt may decide earlier if its top economist is likely to get a fresh term. The CEA provides crucial technical inputs for the budget and also authors the Economic Survey along with his colleagues in the finance ministry’s economic division.
The fourth job, that of Sebi chief, is likely to pose the biggest dilemma for the govt given the controversy around Madhabi Puri Buch, the first woman and the first from the private sector to head the regulatory agency. Puri Buch has faced allegations of impropriety and conflict of interest, charges she has denied, amid chatter in govt over how civil servants are best suited to take up such regulatory assignments.
On March 1, 2022, the former banker was named Sebi chief for three years and is eligible for a fresh term. At least three of her predecessors G N Bajpai, M Damodaran and C B Bhave have had three-year stints.