RBI MPC latest news: The Narendra Modi government is in process of appointing new external members to the Monetary Policy Committee of the Reserve Bank of India, multiple media reports said on Friday.

The appointments will be finalised ahead of the October MPC, reports by Bloomberg and CNBC-TV 18 said. RBI MPC comprises of six members. These include three central bank officials and three external members.

The MPC is led by RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das. The external members to the MPC are usually renowned economists or finance experts. The external members of the current MPC are – Ashima Goyal, Jayanth R Varma and Shashanka Bhide. Goyal, a well-known economist, is a professor at Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research. Varma is professor at IIM-A. Bhide is senior advisor at Delhi’s National Council of Applied Economic Research, a CNBC-TV18 report said.

All the members were appointed in October, 2020. Since there is no provision of extension under the RBI Act, the Centre will have to make new appointments by the end of the tenure.

While the tenure of external members ends of October 4, the next MPC is slated for October 9. The Bloomberg report said that the names of the new members are likely to be announced by the end of September or in the first week of October.

The report also said that the central bank would not want the repeat of the 2020 scenario when the MPC was postponed due to the delay in the appointments of the external members. A final decision regarding the names of new external members will be approved by Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led Appointments Committee of the Cabinet.

The central bank has not made any changes in the benchmark interest rate for over 18 months.