Former deputy governor of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) S.S. Tarapore passed away in Mumbai, Maharashtra. He was 80.
As an economist, he was well known for his strong views on issues—ranging from inflation to capital account convertibility.
About S.S. Tarapore
- Tarapore joined the RBI in 1961 and retired in 1996 as deputy governor, having been involved in almost all aspects of monetary policy.
- He served as RBI deputy governor between 1992 and 1996 when C. Rangarajan was the governor.
- This was a period of rapid change for the Indian economy, with the government having introduced economic reforms in 1991.
- He had chaired two eponymous Committees on Capital Account Convertibility and had laid down benchmarks of preconditions essential for India to move to fuller capital account convertibility.
- He was strong defender of the RBI and its autonomy. He was staunch critic of the Financial Sector Legislative Reforms Commission (FSLRC).
- He was also known as an inflation hawk, chiding policymakers through his public comments and writings for being too lax on inflation control.
- Based on the recommendations of the committee, Foreign Exchange Regulation Act (FERA) was replaced with Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) in June 2000.