India gets new RBI chief as inflation soars

NEW DELHI, Sept 2 (AFP) India has appointed a new central bank chief to replace Yaga Venugopal Reddy, who retires later this week with Asia's third-largest economy battling high inflation. brFinance Secretary Duvvuri Subbarao will succeed Reddy as governor of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), a government announcement late Monday said. brThe new RBI chief, who currently holds the top civil service job in the finance ministry, will have to wrestle down inflation running at a 13-year peak of 12.40 per cent. brSubbarao would assume office on September 5, Finance Minister P Chidambaram said.