From left to right: Ravindra H Dholakia, Pami Dua and Chetan Ghate.

The government today appointed three members of the monetary policy committee which will set interest rates.The members appointed by the government are IIM Ahmedabad Professor Ravindra H Dholakia, Indian Statistical Institute Professor Chetan Ghate, Delhi School of Economics Director Pami Dua.The members have been appointed for four years.The monetary policy committee will have six members, three each from the government and the RBI.The RBI chief will chair the committee and will have a casting vote in case of a tie.The RBI and the government agreed last year to form a policy-making panel. It was notified earlier this year by the government.

Former RBI governor Raghuram Rajan had championed the change, saying it would lead to a more institutionalised decision-making process than the current system which gives the governor wide discretion in setting interest rates and changes to other policy settings.A panel headed by current RBI chief Urjit Patel, who was then the deputy governor of the central bank, had recommended constitution of a monetary policy committee as part of landmark changes in the monetary policy formulation of the Reserve Bank. (With Agency Inputs)