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RBI’s waning independence, Public pensions: The shift into private markets
Thursday 26 September 2019 – Vol. 110 Ed.39.3
Commentary: RBI’s waning independence
By Meghnad Desai in New Delhi
In 2018, India’s finance ministry clashed with the Reserve Bank of India, saying it was being excessively cautious. The bank’s governor, Urjit Patel, and his deputy, Viral Acharya, discreetly left the institution. Last month the central bank, now led by Shaktikanta Das, a former finance ministry official, announced it would transfer the government Inr1.76tn (around $250m) from its dividend income and by drawing down its reserves, raising questions over the central bank’s independence, itself a relatively recent development.
Read the full commentary on the website.
Podcast: Public pensions – The shift into private markets 
Brian McMahon, managing director of alternatives investment services for Europe, Middle East and Africa at BNY Mellon, joins OMFIF economist Pierre Ortlieb to discuss the shifting nature of public pensions, their changing asset allocations and the potential of private markets. The broad-based ‘retailisation’ of private asset classes remains a firm, albeit elusive, goal. The returns they promise are appealing to pension investors across the globe, but costs and valuation issues, among other things, remain significant obstacles.
Listen to the recording, or search ‘OMFIF’ on your smartphone’s podcast app.
