As chief economic advisor, Kaushik Basu exits the Ministry of Finance later this month, the government appears to be finding it hard to choose a replacement.
Basu’s successor might not be selected from among the 18 applications the government has got so far. The selection committee, headed by C Rangarajan, the Prime Minister’s Economic Advisory Council chairman, meets tomorrow and is likely to propose some new names. An official told Business Standard half the applicants were “not meritorious enough” and the panel might go for someone who had not even applied. Raghuram Rajan, a former International Monetary Fund chief economist and an honorary economic adviser to PM Manmohan Singh, is believed to be one such name.
The government has received applications from people with diverse backgrounds such as chartered accountants and professors. While most are from those based in India, a couple of applications have come from other countries, such as Japan. A professor from Kolkata and an economist from the United Nations Development Programme are also among the applications.
Officials said Basu, with his distinctive style of functioning and unique ideas, seemed to have glamorised the CEA’s job, with people showing interest like “never before” in the selection. It is learnt Basu was not keen on another extension and wanted to go back to Cornell University.
“The selection panel has made up its mind on what it would look for in the successor. The selection would be done based on those requirements, keeping in mind the current scenario,” said another person in the know.
The selection committee also comprises R Gopalan, secretary, department of economic affairs. It is hire a person on deputation or contract for a period of three years or the age of superannuation, whichever is earlier.
Officers of the Centre and state governments, public sector enterprises, Reserve Bank of India, public sector banks, universities, research institutions, central regulatory bodies, semi-government statutory or autonomous bodies, private institutions and financial institutions were eligible to apply. A Master’s degree in economics and six years of experience in economic research/providing economic advice/evaluation of economic reforms are essential eligibility criteria.