First, it was outspoken Raghuram Rajan and then old Rs 500/1,000 notes, including those bearing his signature — 2016 saw them exit the Mint Street riding such big waves of controversies that their ripple effect is bound to be felt in the new year.
Rajan was replaced by a low-profile Urjit Patel as the new Reserve Bank Governor and the good-old Rs 500 banknotes made way for a new grey-colour replacement while a brand new pink Rs 2,000 note also entered the scene. A replacement for old Rs 1,000 notes is still awaited.
In his three-year tenure at RBI that ended this September, Rajan stoked several controversies with his comments on almost all issues under the sun — including on political, social, academic and obviously economic issues.
In contrast, his successor Patel has often been criticised in some quarters for keeping mostly silent — a trait which was initially seen as having gone in his favour after Rajan’s vocal nature.
