CII supports second term for RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan

Two days after finance minister Arun Jaitley spoke out against personal attacks on Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Raghuram Rajan, the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) has openly come out in support of a second term for Rajan.

"I think the Governor has been doing a great job for the country and we would certainly see it as a very positive move if he were reappointed," Naushad Forbes, president of the CII, told PTI on Thursday.

Forbes is part of an industry delegation that is accompanying Jaitley on his six-day visit to Japan seeking investments from the country to drive India's growth. 

He also expressed his disapproval of personal attacks on the RBI governor. "I would only repeat what Finance Minister has said that I don't think personal attacks are warranted. I don't think they serve us well at all as a country. They in a sense actually are demeaning," the agency quoted him as saying.

Jaitley had said a couple of days ago that he was against comments made against Rajan, an indirect reference to his party colleague and newly-appointed Rajya Sabha member Subramanian Swamy. 

Read: 'We should kick out the RBI governor': BJP's Subramanian Swamy on Raghuram Rajan

"I do not approve of any of these comments being made by anyone as far as the personality is concerned, because the RBI and its Governor is an important institution in Indian economy," Jaitley told PTI in Tokyo on Monday.

Raghuram Rajan, who took charge as RBI governor from the outgoing Duvvuri Subbarao on Sep. 4, 2013, was appointed by the then Congress-led UPA government. If he does not get an extension, he will be the first RBI chief since 1992 to not have a five-year term, PTI said.

Rajan will be announcing the bank's monetary policy review meeting on June 7.