Krishnamurthy Subramanian had 6 months still left in his tenure at IMF. Why did Modi govt recall him
The government is yet to announce its replacement.
Subramaniam was the Indian government's nominee on the IMF board and his tenure was to end in November. He was appointed to the position for 3 years in August 2022 and represented India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Bhutan on the executive board. He took charge on 1 November that year. But in a sudden move, the government curtailed his tenure 6 months before on 30 April, with immediate effect.
New Delhi: The Modi government's decision to terminate Dr Krishnamurthy Subramanian's tenure as executive director at the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on 30 April—just days before a key meeting of the multilateral agency to decide on climate resilience loan to Pakistan—might appear abrupt. However, those in the know in the government say it did not come as a surprise to them.
While there was no official statement from the finance ministry as to the reason behind his termination, government sources said the decision to remove him followed the alleged complaints of how Subramanian misused his official position for personal gain and promote his latest book 'India @100: Envisioning Tomorrow's Economic Powerhouse'.
The book, published by Rupa Publications, delves into how India can become a $55 trillion economy by 2047.
Government sources said Subramanian not only leveraged his post to get 'undue benefits' for himself but also 'pressurised and intimidated' public and private organisations to purchase his latest book in a bid to increase its sales. Sources said Subramanian had in recent past questioned IMF datasets related to India, which had raised concern at the multilateral agency.
Subramanian was not available for comment despite repeated attempts to contact him on his mobile phone.
Government sources said, following the curtailment of his service, Subramanian resigned from his post citing personal reasons. The IMF website now lists Harischandra Pahath Kumbure Gedara as alternate director.
Prior to Subramanian, noted economist Surjit Bhalla had served as IMF executive director. Government sources said that it is extremely rare for the government to curtail the tenure of an IMF executive director like this.
Subramanian had also served as India's chief economic advisor from 2018 to 2021. He is credited for coining the term 'thalinomics' in the 2019-20 Economic Survey to show what a common person pays for a vegetarian or non-vegetarian thali, in a bid to defend the Modi-led BJP government's inflation management.
The economist had previously defended the Modi government's move in 2016 to demonetise high value currency.
(Edited by Zinnia Ray Chaudhuri)
Also read: IMF growth outlook is cautiously optimistic. It seems to leave out impact of larger disruptions in US
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Time of India
15 minutes ago
- Time of India
Gautam Adani's draws Rs 10.41 cr pay in FY25, lags behind peers, ETHRWorld
Advt Advt Join the community of 2M+ industry professionals Subscribe to our newsletter to get latest insights & analysis. Download ETHRWorld App Get Realtime updates Save your favourite articles Scan to download App India's second richest person Gautam Adani received a total remuneration of Rs 10.41 crore in the fiscal year ended March 31, 2025, lower than most industry peers and his own key 62, drew salaries from two out of the nine listed companies in his ports-to-energy conglomerate, the latest annual reports of the listed entities of the group showed. His total remuneration was 12 per cent more than the Rs 9.26 crore he had earned in the previous 2023-24 financial remuneration for 2024-25 from the group's flagship firm Adani Enterprises Ltd (AEL) included Rs 2.26 crore salary and another Rs 28 lakh in perquisites, allowances and other benefits. The total earnings from AEL at Rs 2.54 crore was higher than Rs 2.46 crore in the previous he drew Rs 7.87 crore from Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone (APSEZ) - - Rs 1.8 crore salary and Rs 6.07 crore compared with Rs 6.8 crore he received from APSEZ in salary is lower than the heads of almost all large family-owned conglomerates in the richest Indian, Mukesh Ambani , has been foregoing his entire salary since Covid-19 broke out, prior to which he had capped his remuneration at Rs 15 crore, Adani's remuneration is much lower than telecom czar Sunil Bharti Mittal (Rs 32.27 crore in 2023-24), Rajiv Bajaj (Rs 53.75 crore in FY24), Pawan Munjal (Rs 109 crore in FY24), L&T Chairman S N Subrahmanyan (Rs 76.25 crore in FY25) and Infosys CEO Salil S Parekh (Rs 80.62 crore in FY25).The latest annual reports of Mittal's Bharti Airtel, Munjal's Hero Motocorp and Bajaj Auto are yet to be like other promoters, Adani also earns from dividends that the group companies may pay on earnings every earned by Adani is lower than at least a couple of chief executives of his group companies. AEL CEO Vinay Prakash got Rs 69.34 crore. Prakash's remuneration included Rs 4 crore salary and Rs 65.34 crore in perquisites, allowances and variable incentives "for exceptional operational and financial performance in the mining services and integrated resources management business of the company".Renewable energy firm Adani Green Energy Ltd (AGEL) Managing Director Vneet S Jaain got Rs 11.23 crore, while Group CFO Jugeshinder Singh earned Rs 10.4 crore in son Karan received Rs 7.09 crore from APSEZ, while the company CEO Ashwani Gupta earned Rs 10.34 crore. Variable pay for FY25 in both Karan and Gupta's case will be disbursed in FY26, the annual report Adani's younger brother, Rajesh earned Rs 9.87 crore from AEL while his nephew Pranav got Rs 7.45 crore. His other nephew Sagar took home Rs 7.50 crore from gas arm Adani Total Gas CEO Suresh P Manglani was paid Rs 8.21 crore in remuneration for 2024-25 and Adani Energy Solutions CEO drew Rs 14 crore Power CEO SB Khayalia drew Rs 9.16 crore salary in Adani, who is worth USD 82.5 billion according to the Bloomberg Billionaire Index, has been jostling with Ambani for the spot of the richest person in Asia. He became the richest Asian in 2022 but lost that position after a damning report by US short-seller Hindenburg Research wiped out almost USD 150 billion of the market value of his group stock at its lowest point in regained the top spot on two occasions last year but again ceded the position to is ranked 17th on the world's richest list with a net worth of USD 104 billion. Adani is ranked 20th. PTI
News18
15 minutes ago
- News18
India Reduced Poverty By Record Levels But 45% Of Pakistan's Population Is Poor, Reveals World Bank
Last Updated: In an assessment earlier this April, the World Bank said 1.9 million additional people fell into poverty in 2024-25 in Pakistan India has brought a record number of people out of poverty as per the World Bank, but the latter's latest projection on Pakistan says nearly 45 per cent of its population lives in poverty, while 16.5 per cent lives in extreme poverty. This is after a World Bank revision of the threshold poverty line last week. In an assessment earlier this April, the World Bank had said 1.9 million additional people fell into poverty in 2024-25 in Pakistan. India has been making a case before the IMF and the World Bank that Pakistan has been misusing global aid for the purposes of terrorism against India. The World Bank data could be further used by India to raise strong doubts on how Pakistan has been using global aid from agencies like the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for the purported benefit of its common people. India's extreme poverty rate declined sharply to 5.3 per cent over a decade from 27.1 per cent in 2011-12, even as the World Bank has revised upwards its threshold poverty line to $3 per day. India has lifted 171 million people from extreme poverty in the decade between 2011-12 and 2022-23, as per the World Bank. The World Bank report on Pakistan in April said the country's 2.6 per cent economic growth 'remains insufficient to reduce poverty". The poverty rate is estimated to stand at 42.4 per cent (US$3.65/day 2017 PPP) in FY25 in Pakistan, 'virtually unchanged from last year", the report said. 'With population growing at nearly 2 per cent annually, this translates to 1.9 million additional people falling into poverty this year," the report said. The World Bank also said the agriculture sector faces significant challenges in Pakistan as in 2025, weather conditions deteriorated with a 40 per cent reduction in rainfall, alongside pest attacks and shifting production choices. 'Crop yields are projected to decline, ranging from 29.6 per cent for cotton to 1.2 per cent for rice, limiting sectoral growth to under 2 per cent," the report says. With India putting the Indus Waters Treaty in abeyance, water flow to Pakistan's Punjab has also been severely affected, which could also put agriculture yield in Pakistan under severe stress. CNN-News18 had reported on Sunday that Pakistan's official data shows a 15 per cent drop in water flow in the Indus Water Basin in Punjab with the Dams Level at many Pakistani dams nearing the dead level. 'With agriculture employing approximately half of the working poor, rural poverty is expected to rise slightly (0.2 percentage points), while real incomes for agricultural workers are projected to fall 0.7 per cent in FY25. Food security concerns loom large, with an estimated 10 million people at risk of acute food insecurity in rural areas," the report says. The report said the consumption-based inequality in Pakistan has climbed nearly 2 points since FY21, holding steady just below 32 over the past year. 'However, actual inequality is likely higher since surveys typically underrepresent wealthy households. Additionally, external factors such as evolving global trade dynamics, could influence the pace of economic recovery and subsequent progress on poverty reduction." First Published: June 09, 2025, 08:12 IST
New Indian Express
15 minutes ago
- New Indian Express
Special session pitch unites INDIA bloc
This week, the Modi government announced the monsoon session of Parliament, scheduled from July 21 to August 12, rejecting the demand by more than 17 Opposition parties for a special Parliament session to discuss the Pahalgam terror attack and Operation Sindoor. The INDIA bloc parties had written to the Prime Minister for the special session. Initially, the perception was only Congress MPs had sent the letter. However, the party decided to rope in INDIA bloc partners at the insistence of the Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi. The TMC, which always toes a different line from that of its constituents in the INDIA bloc, came on board after Gandhi personally reached out to TMC MP Abhishek Banerjee. Gandhi also made an extra effort to reach out to SP chief Akhilesh Yadav, DMK's TR Balu, and Shiv Sena (UBT)'s Aditya Thackeray. Sources said the party went into overdrive, with general secretary KC Venugopal and deputy leader in the Lok Sabha Gaurav Gogoi following up with the main opposition parties. Tamil Nadu MP Manickam Tagore coordinated with the DMK and others in the state, Kerala MP Suresh Kodikunnil contacted the Left and other parties. Bihar MP Mohammad Jawed held talks with the AAP, but to no effect. NCP(SP) leader Supriya Sule maintains she could not sign the letter as she was on the multi-party delegation outreach; sources in the Congress debunk her claims. "Sharad Pawar could have signed it," says a leader who was part of the talks.
