RBI governor Urjit Patel’s tenure could be drawing to a premature close

RBI governor Urjit Patel’s tenure could be drawing to a premature close. Citing several people in the know, CNBC-TV18 reports that Patel was considering all options, including resigning from his post, following an “irreversible breakdown” between him and the government. Meanwhile, Economic Times reports the Centre has invoked never-before-used powers under the RBI Act to issue directions to Patel on matters such as liquidity for NBFCs, capital requirement for weak banks and lending to SMEs. The RBI and the government have been at loggerheads over various issues such as autonomy in setting policy rates and classification of bad loans.