Raghuram Rajan, Raj Chetty, Asha Sharma Named To US Fed Policy Task Forces

India-West News Desk

WASHINGTON, DC – US Federal Reserve Chairman Kevin Warsh has appointed former Reserve Bank of India Governor Raghuram Rajan, Harvard economist Raj Chetty and Microsoft Xbox CEO Asha Sharma to lead key task forces that will review the central bank’s monetary policy framework and recommend long-term reforms.

Warsh announced the leadership of five task forces on July 10, saying the panels would examine the Federal Reserve’s current policy approach and propose transformational changes.

“The goal is straightforward: to ensure the Fed is best positioned to achieve our objectives in this consequential time,” Warsh said while unveiling the task force members.

Rajan, who also served as India’s chief economic adviser, will co-chair the Balance Sheet Policy task force. The panel has been asked to evaluate the costs, benefits and institutional implications of the Federal Reserve’s balance sheet framework.

Currently the Katherine Dusak Miller Distinguished Service Professor of Finance at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, Rajan is widely known for warning global policymakers about risks in the growing subprime mortgage market before the 2008 global financial crisis.

Chetty, the William A. Ackman Professor of Public Economics at Harvard University, will co-lead the Liquidity Dependence task force. The panel will study the Federal Reserve’s current balance sheet regime and assess its broader economic implications.

Chetty also serves as director of Harvard’s Opportunity Insights, a research center focused on expanding economic opportunity for children from disadvantaged backgrounds. He will work alongside Harvard economist Jeremy Stein, former Walmart CEO Doug McMillon and University of Chicago economist Kevin Murphy.

Sharma, the chief executive of Microsoft’s Xbox division, has been selected to co-chair the Productivity and Employment task force. Her appointment comes shortly after Microsoft announced one of the largest rounds of layoffs in the gaming division in recent years.

Born in India and raised in the United States, Sharma previously held leadership roles at Meta, Coupang, Instacart and The Home Depot.