Controversy: KV Subramanian’s Firing and Union Bank’s Book Spending

On Tuesday, the Congress Party accused the Indian government of abruptly firing KV Subramanian from his role as the country’s executive director at the International Monetary Fund (IMF). They claimed his removal was due to misconduct and prompted concerns about wasteful spending of public money.

They pointed out that the Union Bank of India ordered two lakh copies of Subramanian’s book, “India@100,” at a cost of about Rs 7.25 crore (that’s 72.5 million rupees!). Half of this amount, Rs 3.5 crore, was paid upfront. The bank planned to distribute these books to schools and libraries across its 18 zonal offices.

Congress spokesperson Supriya Shrinate highlighted that Subramanian used to be the chief economic advisor and made bold predictions about the economy during COVID-19, which turned out to be wrong. Shrinate questioned why the government had not provided a clear reason for Subramanian’s sudden dismissal just six months before his term ended.

She also raised questions about the spending on the books, asking if the Union Bank of India had approval from its board or the Ministry of Finance before spending such a large amount. She wanted to know if this purchase was proper since it involved public money. Shrinate alleged that the bank’s managing director might have pushed for this book deal as an “indirect bribe” to secure a job extension.

On another matter, she mentioned that Pakistan has requested a loan of USD 1.3 billion from the IMF and expressed hope that India would oppose this loan, given Pakistan’s history of supporting terrorism and acting against India.