Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said on Saturday that the Union government may name the next Governor of the Reserve Bank of India shortly. Hours after Raghuram Rajan unexpectedly made public his intention of returning to academia after the end of his term in September, eight to nine names including those of Economic Affairs Secretary Shaktikanta Das and NITI Aayog Vice-Chairman Arvind Panagariya were floating in the air. Indianmandarins has learnt that the Prime Minister's Office may announce Dr. Rajan's successor next week. An RBI source said Dr. Rajan's decision follows heightened uncertainty over his second term: "The Governor was open to a second term and he had sought clarity on it from the government at the highest level, but he received no response at all. Indeed, the government did not even soothe his pride by telling him that the daily attacks on him were unfair." Responding to a media query on Dr. Rajan's reappointment, NaMo last month said that it would come up only in September. In a three-sentence message on social media websites, Jaitley said the government appreciated the "good work" done by Dr. Rajan and respected his decision. But no official statement was issued. It may seem that Dr. Rajan's announcement caught the government off-guard. "The government had no prior information on the letter from Dr. Rajan to RBI staff or his intentions … he seems to have made up his mind," an official said. He added the decision not to continue at the RBI was Dr. Rajan's own and the government was yet to take a decision one way or the other. Dr. Rajan's letter indicates that he held consultations with the government, but does not specify if he informed it of his decision not to seek a second term.