Raghuram Rajan a probable for BRICS bank top post: report

Reserve Bank Governor Raghuram Rajan is reported to be one of the probable choices for the president of BRICS's New Development Bank, although the government does not want to risk Rajan quitting as RBI governor.

A union cabinet minister and a well-known banker in infrastructure finance have also figured in discussions on possible candidates for BRICS' New Development Bank president, according to reports.

This search is on and a few more names are likely to crop up as the Modi government casts the net wider, say reports.

The BRICS nations - Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa - had agreed at their sixth summit in Fortaleza that India would nominate the first president of the bank and that its headquarters will be in China (See: India to name first BRICS Bank president).

At an informal meeting of BRICS leaders on the sidelines of the G20 meeting in Brisbane, Australia on Saturday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had proposed that 2016 be set as the target for the inauguration of the BRICS Bank. ''We hope to ratify the agreement by the end of the year… We would soon nominate our candidate for the post of the presidency,'' Modi said.

While Rajan as the governor of the Reserve Bank of India and a well-known economist has wider global acceptance, the Modi government has not formally reached out to Rajan as yet, as it might become difficult for India to spare Rajan for the role.

Rajan as the RBI chief helped bring down volatility in the rupee, reduced and stabilized external debt over the first 14 months he has been in office.

''There is always the risk that his departure from the Reserve Bank could bring the rupee under pressure with overnight dollar outflows,'' the source said.