RBI’s regulatory functions should be removed, says Chidambaram

Reserve Bank’s regulatory functions should be taken away and given to another body to improve surveillance over irregularities in the capital market, former Finance minister P Chidambaram today told the joint parliamentary committee (JPC) on Thursday looking into the stock scam.

“The RBI should remain only a central bank and the regulatory role should be performed by somebody else”, JPC Chairman Prakash Mani Tripathi quoted Chidambaram as telling the committee. Tripathi said Chidambaram was in agreement with Finance Minister Jaswant Singh, who appeared before JPC on Wednesday, that the revenue loss of Rs 350 crore projected in some quarters due to the Mauritius route facility was only “notional”. While stating that RBI is doing an excellent job in the given situation, Chidambaram was of the view that it should remain only the central bank without the role of a banking regulator to streamline its operations, Tripathi said.