Reserve Bank of India Governor Raghuram Rajan has said that it is time the government deregulates diesel prices in the wake of falling global crude oil prices. Rajan also said that it is not just food prices that are persistently high, but even those of other items that remain high. He said prices across the board have to come down to enable him to reduce key rates.The RBI Governor was addressing bankers at an annual industry conference organised by FICCI in Mumbai today.While batting for greater autonomy to state-run banks, Rajan said that government should look at them as independent entities that take their own commercial decisions and not as an extended arm of the administration. The Governor said that while it was fine for the government to involve banks to further the social sector agenda, it should ensure that such schemes are financially feasible for the lenders. After all, public sector banks also have private shareholders and are not any longer an extension of the government.