New Delhi, Apr 11 (IANS): Former Reserve Bank of India Governor Raghuram Rajan has been named as a member of the International Monetary Fund Managing Director's External Advisory Group.

Accordingly, Kristalina Georgieva, Managing Director of IMF, convened the new external advisory group to provide perspectives from around the globe on key developments and policy issues, including policy responses to the exceptional challenges the world now faces due to novel coronavirus and its economic impact.

"Even before the spread of Covid-19 and the dramatic health, economic, and financial disruptions it has brought, IMF members confronted a rapidly evolving world and complex policy issues," Georgieva was quoted as saying in a statement.

"To serve our membership well in this context, we need top-notch input and expertise from the widest range of sources, inside and outside the Fund," she said.

She further said: "Today we had a dynamic discussion to gain their insights, and to receive informal reactions to our ideas and approaches."

Other members of the Managing Director's External Advisory Group include Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, former Finance Minister of Nigeria, Tharman Shanmugar Atnam, Senior Minister of Singapore and Chairman of the Monetary Authority of Singapore, Kristin Forbes, Professor, Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Kevin Rudd, former Prime Minister of Australia amongst others.