Raghuram Rajan, Raj Chetty, Asha Sharma Named to Key US Fed Task Forces

Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh on Thursday released the names of experts leading five new task forces set up to examine the central bank's operations, with Indian origin figures Raghuram Rajan, Raj Chetty and Asha Sharma among the co-chairs. The panels bring together economists, business leaders and former central bank officials to review everything from monetary policy communications to the impact of artificial intelligence on jobs.

Who Is Leading The Task Forces

Rajan, former governor of the Reserve Bank of India and now a finance professor at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, will co-lead the Balance Sheet Policy task force. He will work alongside Harvard economist and former Treasury official Karen Dynan and former Fed governor Jeremy Stein.

Chetty, a Harvard economist known for using large data sets to study economic mobility, will co-chair the Data task force. He is joined by former Walmart chief executive Doug McMillon and University of Chicago economist Kevin Murphy. Xbox Layoffs: CEO Asha Sharma Shares Email Sent to Employees, Confirms Job Cuts and Studio Reset.

Sharma, executive vice president and Xbox CEO at Microsoft, will co-lead the Productivity and Jobs task force. Her co-chairs are venture capitalist Marc Andreessen and Stanford economist Charles I. Jones, who is currently on leave and working with AI company Anthropic.

Five Panels, Five Focus Areas

The five task forces cover Communications, Balance Sheet Policy, Data, Productivity and Jobs, and Inflation Frameworks. Each will have three co-leaders and receive support from Fed staff. Microsoft Xbox Layoffs: 4,800 Impacted in Major Restructuring, Confirms CEO Asha Sharma.

The Communications task force will be led by Peter R. Fisher of the University of Washington, Arminio Fraga of Gavea Investimentos, and former Bank of England governor Mervyn King. The Inflation Frameworks group will be co-chaired by Harvard's Greg Mankiw and Nobel laureate Thomas Sargent of New York University.

Why The Review Matters

Warsh first announced plans for the task forces last month, saying they would scrutinize the Fed's tools and analytical approaches. In a statement, Warsh said the review reflects how much the American economy has changed and that each task force would examine whether the central bank's methods can be improved.

The Productivity and Jobs panel has drawn particular attention, since Warsh has flagged AI driven productivity gains as a factor that could influence interest rate decisions. Minutes from the June Federal Open Market Committee meeting show officials weighing whether AI linked demand could add to inflation, even as better productivity might ease price pressures elsewhere.

The Fed's benchmark interest rate currently sits between 3.5 percent and 3.75 percent. The task forces have not been given a formal deadline, though Warsh has said he expects changes to take shape within the year. The next FOMC meeting is scheduled for July 28 and 29.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jul 10, 2026 08:51 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).