Former RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan says he did not chair an IMF webinar

A WhatsApp forward claims to share the “key takeaways” of a purported webinar that Rajan chaired, but the economist has called the message fake.
Former RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan says he did not chair an IMF webinar
Former RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan says he did not chair an IMF webinar
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Raghuram Rajan, an Indian economist and former governor of the Reserve Bank of India, rubbished claims that he had chaired a webinar on the coronavirus pandemic purportedly organised by the International Monetary Fund (IMF). A WhatsApp forward offers a detailed account of the supposed webinar, but according to Rajan, the message is fake. 

“A webinar, purportedly from an IMF session that I am supposed to have chaired, is circulating among Indian Whatsapp groups. I have not participated in any such webinar. I am afraid in this age of fake news it is hard to respond to every such occurrence. I can only say that I post all my relevant public statements on this site only,” Rajan posted on his LinkedIn page on Tuesday. 

A comment on Rajan's post by Abishek Lunia, vice president at Fashor Lifestyle Private Limited, appears to shed light on the source of the message. According to the comment, Lunia drafted the WhatsApp message based on a different webinar attributed to Reliance Brands CEO Darshan Mehta. However, after the message went viral, the attributation wrongly changed to Rajan's name. 

According to BOOMLive, Mehta had taken part in a webinar in April organised by Jain International Trade Organisation and was able to confirm some parts of the message, but not the entire post.  

The WhatsApp forward, titled “Webinar by IMF, Chaired by Raghuram Rajan, this morning,” includes a detailed description of the “key takeaways” from the purported webinar primarily around the COVID-19 pandemic. It covers various points under 17 different sectors, including discretionary spending, government stimulus, real estate, wholesale and retail, export, the ‘work from home’ scenario, among others. 

“India seems to have suppressed the curve so far. It looks like it might escape the worst of the pandemic, but will have to be cautious about it,” the message begins under the section “General Outlook.”

Rajan served as the RBI governor from 2013 to 2016. He was previously the Chief Economist and Director of Research at the IMF between 2003 and 2006. He is currently the Katherine Dusak Miller Distinguished Service Professor of Finance at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business.

He has authored a number of books, including The Third Pillar: How the State and Markets are leaving Communities Behind and Fault Lines: How Hidden Fractures Still Threaten the World Economy.

India’s coronavirus cases crossed 20,000 on Wednesday, with almost 4,000 recoveries and 650 deaths. Over 4.6 lakh samples from 4.47 lakh individuals have been tested as of April 21 at 9 pm.  

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