Is Urjit Patel's return to policy space a sign of reconciliation with govt?

Urjit Patel, former Reserve Bank of India (RBI) governor, is back in the policy space. This time as the chairman of the autonomous but government-affiliated National Institute of Public Finance and Policy (NIPFP).

In many ways, this is Patel’s home ground. Two of his papers, co-authored with Willem H Buiter, on fiscal policies and deficits were acclaimed by economists. As chairman of NIPFP for the next four years at least, Urjit Patel, 56, could offer the government advice on the way out of the present fiscal mess and an economic slowdown that is bordering on recession.

Some suggest that the