What is the Tarapore Committee?
The Reserve Bank of India has appointed a committee to set out the framework for fuller Capital Account Convertibility.
The Committee, chaired by former RBI governor S S Tarapore, was set up by the Reserve Bank of India in consultation with the Government of India to revisit the subject of fuller capital account convertibility in the context of the progress in economic reforms, the stability of the external and financial sectors, accelerated growth and global integration.
Economists Surjit S Bhalla, M G Bhide, R H Patil, A V Rajwade and Ajit Ranade were the members of the Committee.
The Reserve Bank of India has also constituted an internal task force to re-examine the extant regulations and make recommendations to remove the operational impediments in the path of liberalisation already in place. The task force will make its recommendations on an ongoing basis and the processes are expected to be completed by December 4, 2006. The Task Force has been set up following a recommendation of the Committee.
The Task Force will be convened by Salim Gangadharan, chief general manager, in-charge, foreign exchange department, Reserve Bank of India, and will have the following terms of reference:
• Undertake a review of the extant regulations that straddle current and capital accounts, especially items in one account that have implication for the other account, and iron out inconsistencies in such regulations.
• Examine existing repatriation/surrender requirements in the context of current account convertibility and management of capital account.
• Identify areas where streamlining and simplification of procedure is possible and remove the operational impediments, especially in respect of the ease with which transa ...