Former bureaucrat Shaktikanta Das named new RBI Governor

TIL Desk/Business/New Delhi/ Former bureaucrat Shaktikanta Das, who spearheaded the post-demonetisation normalisation of the economy, was Tuesday named the new governor of the Reserve Bank of India. Das, 61, replaces Urjit Patel, who shocked the establishment and markets by announcing his exit from the central bank Monday. Das will have a three-year term, an official order said.

He will be the first bureaucrat to head the central bank in almost five years. While it was widely expected that the government will name an interim RBI head during its search for Patel’s replacement, the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi chose Das within a day.

In a tweet, the Finance Ministry said the government has “accepted the resignation of Dr Urjit Patel who resigned yesterday from the said post.”  Meanwhile, Finance Secretary A N Jha said Das has wide experience in state government as well as the union government.

Das,a 1980-batch Tamil Nadu cadre IAS officer, who retired as Economic Affairs Secretary in May 2017, oversaw the re-monetisation of the economy after the shock decision to withdraw 86 per cent of the currency in circulation in November 2016. After his retirement, he was named India’s G-20 sherpa and also appointed as a member of the 15th Finance Commission.