NEW DELHI: Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Raghuram Rajan, whose three-year term comes to an end in nine weeks, has pitched for a longer tenure for the central bank head, saying the global practice has to be emulated in India as well.

Rajan, who briefed Parliament’s Standing Committee of Finance on various aspects of economy and NPA in banks, was asked by members on what should be the tenure of the RBI Governor, sources said.

He told the members that a three-year term is “short”. On whether it should be five years, Rajan is believed to have cited the case of U.S. Federal Reserve. In the U.S. Fed, in addition to serving as members of the Board, the Chairman and Vice-Chairman serve terms of four years and may be reappointed to those roles who in turn serve until their terms as Governors expire. Rajan, whose current three-year tenure ends on September 4, has already said no to a second term. Sources further said that during the meeting that lasted for over three hours, the Governor briefed the panel, headed by senior Congress leader M. Veerappa Moily, on the state of the economy, reforms and restructuring of RBI, challenges in the banking sector in India and the way forward. The committee was apprised by Mr. Rajan of the various steps taken to deal with the bad loan problem, said the sources. The RBI has said the gross non-performing assets of the banks can rise to as high as 9.3 per cent in 2016-17 after hitting 7.6 per cent in March 2016. –PTI