India’s government has appointed the right-wing commentator Swaminathan Gurumurthy to the board of the Reserve Bank of India, in a move that risks being seen as undermining the central bank’s independence.

The RBI board is typically staffed with technocratic candidates, even if many of them are government appointees. But Gurumurthy, who will serve as a part-time director for four years, has clear political leanings and has attacked the central bank in the past.

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