Urjit Patel becomes 24th Governor of RBI

TIL Desk/Business/Mumbai- Ending months of speculation, Urjit Patel, a Deputy Governor at the RBI, was named as the next chief of India’s central bank to succeed outspoken Raghuram Rajan, whose tenure was marked with tough measures to control inflation and headline-making statements.

52-year-old Patel, who has been overseeing the monetary policy department at RBI under Rajan and has been known as his ‘inflation-warrior’, will have a three-year term, an official statement said here. Having worked with the International Monetary Fund, Boston Consulting Group and Reliance Industries among other organisations, Patel will take over after Rajan completes his three-year stint on September 4.

He will be among the few with a corporate background to become RBI Governor, the top post at the Mint Street that has been previously held by mostly career bureaucrats or economists at academic institutions. While Rajan’s exit has been seen in many quarters as driven by his often candid views against various policies of the government, Patel’s appointment as the 24th RBI Governor may end up ensuring continuity of the monetary policy of the current Governor.