Former RBI Deputy Governor S S Tarapore passes away

Renowned economist and former deputy governor of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) S.S. Tarapore passed away in Mumbai, Maharashtra. He was 80.
As an economist, he was well known for his strong views on issues—ranging from inflation to capital account convertibility.

About S.S. Tarapore

• He had started his career with RBI as a research officer in 1961 and demitted office as Deputy Governor in September 1996.
• He had served as deputy governor of RBI from 1992 and 1996 when C. Rangarajan was the governor.
• During his stint as deputy governor, Indian economy saw the structural change as government had introduced economic reforms in 1991.
• He had chaired two eponymous Committees on Capital Account Convertibility and had laid down benchmarks of preconditions essential for India to move to fuller capital account convertibility.
• Based on the recommendations of the committee, Foreign Exchange Regulation Act (FERA) was replaced with Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) in June 2000.
• He was also known as an inflation hawk for his writings and public comments for being too lax on inflation control.
• He was strong defender of the RBI and its autonomy. He was staunch critic of the Financial Sector Legislative Reforms Commission (FSLRC).

Month: Current Affairs - February, 2016