Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee has on June 26, resigned from his post to contest in the presidential elections on the month of July , the Prime Minister’s office said. The Indian Prime Minsiter Manmohan Singh will be the next to take charge of the finance minister.
An official from the Prime Minister’s office said, “[Mr. Mukherjee] has resigned.…The PM will keep the portfolio pending further orders.” Mukherjee has been named as the leading contender of the July Presidential elections and will be representing the Congress Party led, United Progressive Alliance government.
On the other hand it is still not clear for how long Singh will be holding the finance minister’s post. Some of the political observers say that Manmohan Singh could hold the post till the next Parliament session begins by the end of July or August.
Singh could even use the opportunity to recharge the stalled economic overhauls and even restore diminishing investor confidence in the economy. According to the market analysts Manmohan Singh could make politically tough decisions as he is highly regarded for initiating India’s first major economic overhauls as the then finance minister in the year 1991. Meanwhile, easing rules on foreign direct investment like the retail or the civil aviation could also be included in his agenda.
