New Delhi: The government has appointed Ram Singh, Saugata Bhattacharya, and Nagesh Kumar as the new external members of the Reserve Bank of India's Monetary Policy Committee (MPC), according to a government statement released on Tuesday.

The appointments are effective immediately and the new members will serve a four-year term.

The six-member MPC, which includes three officials from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and three external experts, is set to meet from October 7-9 for its next policy review.

In the August meeting, the committee had maintained the interest rate at 6.50% for the ninth consecutive time.

Ram Singh, currently the director of the Delhi School of Economics, has extensive experience in teaching, research, and publishing.

Nagesh Kumar is the director of the Institute for Studies in Industrial Development.

Saugata Bhattacharya is an economist with expertise in economic and financial markets analysis and policy advocacy.

The new appointees replace the outgoing external members Ashima Goyal, Shashanka Bhide, and Jayanth Varma, whose terms were set to conclude on October 4.