RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan did not meet West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee during his trip to the city.
Rajan was in town to hold the bank’s central board meeting on Thursday. He came to town on Wednesday afternoon.
The central board meeting (in Kolkata) is the second since Rajan took over as RBI Governor in September. The last meeting was held in October at Raipur where Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh met Rajan.
It is customary for RBI Governors to pay a visit to the State Chief Minister where the meetings are held.
The first departure came last year (2012), when Banerjee refused to meet former RBI Governor D. Subbarao. However, she later relented following criticism from several quarters.
This time though, a probable meeting is unlikely; unless some last-minute tweaking of plans happen.
The RBI's central board meets at least once every quarter. Apart from holding meetings in Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata; the rest of the meetings are held in other State capitals by rotation. The central board of directors provides overall direction to the monetary policymaking body.
The central board meeting is held in New Delhi after the Union Budget which is addressed by the Finance Minister.
West Bengal's own revenues are expected to grow 32 per cent this fiscal to an estimated Rs 41,000 crore. Over two-thirds of this or nearly Rs 28,000 crore will be used to service debt. The State is saddled with a debt burden of over Rs 2,00,000 crore.