 
MUMBAI: The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) deputy governor, Dr Viral Acharya has resigned from his role, which would be in effect, six months before the end of his tenure – in February 2020.
Responing to the media reports , and RBI statement said, “A few weeks ago, Dr Acharya submitted a letter to the RBI informing that due to unavoidable personal circumstances, he is unable to continue his term as a Deputy Governor of the RBI beyond July 23, 2019. Consequential action arising from his letter is under consideration of the Competent Authority.”
The resignation gains significance given the fact that it was Dr Acharya’s speech in October last year, in fact, triggered the spate of controversies between the Government and the central bank leading to the resignation of then Governor Urjit Patel a few months ago and the subsequent appointment of the career bureaucrat, Shasikanta Das as RBI supremo.
According to reports, Acharya is returning to New York University’s Stern School of Business (NYU Stern) in August, instead of the earlier planned February 2020 as CV Starr Professor of Economics.
Acharya’s speech on the need for RBI’s independence had made headlines in October last year, when the government and the central bank were at loggerheads over various issues, including the extent of RBI’s reserves.
Acharya had in his long speech stressed the importance of a central bank’s independence and said direct intervention and interference by the government in the operational mandate of the central bank negates its functional autonomy.
Though the then Governor Urjit Patel resigned within a few weeks of the Viral speech that marked the start of a souring relation between the Government and RBI, many believed that Viral also would soon follow his governor’s footsteps, which didn’t  happen as widely believed by the market. But that has happened now.
