RBI Governor Urjit Patel resigns citing personal reasons Almost three weeks after a showdown with the government over management of central reserves, the Governor of Reserve Bank of India Urjit Patel stepped down from his post on Monday citing personal reasons. Patel was appointed as the 24th governor RBI governor for a three-year tenure on September 2016. In a statement, Patel said, “on account of personal reasons, I have decided to step down from my current position effective immediately. It has been my privilege and honour to serve the Reserve Bank of India in various capacities over the years.” The rift between RBI and central government was evident on October 27 when deputy governor Viral Acharya urged the need of independence of the central bank without any interference from the ruling government. Acharya had said that such demands would undermine the Indian economy further. After Patel’s resignation, Congress leader Kapil Sibal hit out at the government on Twitter and sai...

Income Inequality in India highest since 1922 Lucas Chancel and Thomas Piketty, renowned economists in their latest report on Wednesday have stated that income inequality in India is highest since 1922- the year in which Income Tax was introduced. The report suggests that Indian income inequality now stands at 22 percent as against the earlier 6 percent in the early 1980s period. In India, the top 1% billionaires in India are responsible for 29% of the economy’s growth, whereas the bottom 50% account for merely 11% of the company’s economic growth. In the 1980’s this band was responsible for 28% of the country’s growth.   Sensex, Nifty close lower as tensions mount over North Korea The Indian benchmark indices lost for the second time in the week on Wednesday as market sentiment was hit due to geopolitical tensions between the US and North Korea. The Sensex fell almost 148 points to 31,661 and the Nifty lost 0.36% and closed at 9,916, after hitting a low of 9,...