Hitting out at some critics of the Reserve Bank of India’s move to transfer Rs 1.76 lakh crore to the Government as a raid on the Central bank’s reserves, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Tuesday that “any suggestion about the credibility of the RBI therefore for me seems a bit outlandish”.
Talking to media persons after meeting the tax officials in Pune, Sitaraman said it was sad that a decision taken by the RBI based on a formula recommended by the Biman Jalan’s revised Economic Framework was being questioned.
“I am not responding to anybody in particular but I want to say that the Bimal Jalan committee had eminent experts in it. It was constituted by the RBI itself and not by the Government. They have had several sittings and have come out with a formula..... They (the Committee) have given a formula based on which the amount (of money to be transferred to the Government) has been arrived at. Now any suggestion about the credibility of the RBI therefore for me seems a bit outlandish, if I may use that word,” the Finance Minister said.
“Considering the committee was appointed by the RBI themselves. They have themselves given an explanation as per some media reporters that financial stability surplus to make any emergency and contingency have all been factored in by the committee and they have arrived at the formula. So comments being made on the credibility of Reserve Bank, I am afraid, is commenting on Reserve bank itself and its selection of the committee and the formula arrived at by the committee,” Sitharaman said.