The Reserve Bank of India may have a chief operating officer with the rank of deputy governor. The board of the central bank is taking up the issue of appointing such a functionary. This is seen as a via media as RBI wants to raise the number of deputy governors for which it will have to get the RBI Act amended and till such amendment is made, a COO can be appointed. Any appointment of a deputy governor will have to be taken by the appointments committee of the cabinet. But the board of RBI can decide on a COO. Of the four DGs at present, two are promoted from within RBI’s ranks and the other two are appointed from outside – one is an economist and the other a commercial banker. There is ambiguity if the COO will be an internal or external candidate. The increase in the number of DGs, and also EDs, are part of a personnel restructuring the central bank is currently undertaking. RBI plans to increase the number of EDs from nine at present to 11.
