Raghuram Rajan takes charge as Chief Economic Advisor

Former International Monetary Fund (IMF) chief economist Raghuram G Rajan took charge as chief economic adviser (CEA) in the finance ministry today. Now he will be a key member of Finance Minister P. Chidambaram't team.

The Cabinet Appointments Committee had Aug 10 cleared Rajan's appointment as the new CEA.

Rajan who is an alumni of Indian Institute of Management-Ahmedabad and IIT-Delhi, Rajan did his doctorate from Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Talking to the media persons, Rajan said that it is glad to be here. He further added, "The world economy faces serious challenges and India is no exception. I hope that in the next days I can help contribute to whatever solutions we devise in tackling these challenges."

Rajan, who will be a key member of Finance Minister P. Chidambaram's team, was honorary economic adviser to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

He is highly acclaimed for predicting the 2008 global financial crisis.

The position of the CEA has been lying vacant since Kaushik Basu's term ended on July 31.

Rajan was also involved with the report on Financial Sector Reforms authorized by the Planning Commission.

(With inputs from IANS)