The government on Wednesday said the RBI's autonomy is "essential" and will be "nurtured", as it sought to calm investors worried by the central bank reportedly being forced to resolve differences with the Centre which has cited powers never used before. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley refused to be drawn into the row saying discussions and consultations with the RBI have never been disclosed publicly. The row was sparked off last week when RBI Deputy Governor Viral Acharya in a hard-hitting speech warned that undermining central bank's independence could be "potentially catastrophic", possible indication of the RBI being pushed to relax its policies ahead of general elections next year. Several media reports claimed the government has sent at least three letters on different issues under Section 7 of the RBI Act that gives it powers to issue any direction to the central bank governor on matters of public interest. The standoff was in relation to RBI's handling of weak public sector banks, tight liquidity in the market and ways of resolving bad loans in the power sector.