Amid rising speculation that he will be taking up a role in the Narendra Modi cabinet, veteran banker K.V. Kamath on Tuesday said he is "absolutely not looking at any government role now". “My thoughts are always with the country, but I need to put my feet up,” he said in an exclusive interview to Network18.
But he said he will continue to share his experience with the government whenever needed. "Somebody like you will talk to me and I get energised to share my 50 years of experience and that is what I will continue to do... put my thoughts on the table," he said.
Kamath's statement comes a day after his stint as the founding president of New Development Bank in Shanghai got over. Kamath took over in 2015 and was responsible for the bank’s swift response in launching the Covid-19 Emergency Programme Loan product. Kamath is credited to have built the multilateral lending institution from scratch.
The statement assumes even more significance amid reports of an impending cabinet reshuffle in the Modi government. The cabinet rejig, which was reportedly on cards early this year, was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Ever since, Kamath's debut as a junior minister in the finance ministry was doing the rounds in the media circles. It was expected that he might play a role in the finance ministry to help steer the economy back towards a growth trajectory.
Denying that he has received any feelers from the government for a role, he said that twice earlier too, he has said he needs time to be with his family and grandkids, and he has only gotten older since then.
Kamath was the CEO of India’s second-largest private-sector lender ICICI Bank for 13 years until 2009, and the chairman of Infosys for nearly four years till 2015.
He also worked with the Asian Development Bank (ADB) in Manila for eight years before taking the top job at ICICI Bank.
