RBI governor goes MIA in war on black money

New Delhi

AS India undergoes the world's biggest currency overhaul in decades, one official is noticeably absent: central bank governor Urjit Patel.

The head of the monetary authority, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), has spoken just once since the government invalidated 86 per cent of currency in circulation in a surprise move on Nov 8. Mounting cash shortages pushed the Supreme Court to warn of riots, and a powerful bank union called for Mr Patel's resignation after a senior bureaucrat was tasked with firefighting.

"Generally, measures of this sort are carefully planned well in advance, a…