Montek, Rakesh Mohan in race for RBI top post?

With the five-year term of Reserve Bank of India Governor Y V Reddy coming to an end soon, names of his deputy Rakesh Mohan and Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia are emerging as potential successors, a media report said in London.

Reddy, whose term is ending in the first week of September, presented the central bank's monetary policy review on Tuesday -- which could probably be the last in his tenure unless he gets an extension.

"Speculation is gathering in Indian financial circles over who will be the next head of the central bank in Asia's second largest fast-growing economy," Financial Times reported.

The report quoted one unnamed source within the government as saying that the rumoured potential candidates included Rakesh Mohan, one of Reddy's deputies in RBI, and Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Alhuwalia.

"Rakesh Mohan would bring plenty of experience in government and the RBI to the job. The Princeton- and Yale-educated bureaucrat is doing his second stint as a deputy governor after stints at the finance ministry," it said.

About Ahluwalia, the report said that his appointment could prove "more controversial."

"India's Opposition might not welcome the appointment of the Oxford-educated liberal economist so soon before an election, given his close relationship with the government."

Reports have suggested that government may not extend Reddy's term beyond early September, though there is no official word on it.

When contacted, a finance ministry official, who did not want to be identified, said that no call has yet been taken on it, while debunking reports that there are differences between the RBI and the government.