New Delhi: Urjit Patel, who has been serving as Deputy Governor of the central bank for more than three years, has been appointed as the governor of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). Mr. Patel will take over as the 24th Governor of the RBI in September 2016.
A statement from the ACC said, “The appointment has been made based on the recommendation of the Financial Sector Regulatory Appointments Search Committee (FSRASC), headed by the Cabinet Secretary. The Committee undertook an extensive exercise to suggest a panel of names to the Appointments Committee of Cabinet (ACC).”
A brief outline of Urijt Patel’s career is here:
- Dr. Patel obtained his BA from the London School of Economics [LSE, University of London], M. Phil. degree from Oxford University in 1986.
- He received his doctorate in Economics from Yale University in 1990. He joined IMF as a Kenyan citizen. He was at IMF India desk during the 1991-1994 transition period. He was posted to IMF country mission in India 1992-1995. He has also been a non-resident Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution since 2009.
- After obtaining his PhD, Dr. Patel joined the International Monetary Fund in 1990 worked on the USA, India, Bahamas and Myanmar desks at IMF till 1995. Thereafter he went on deputation the IMF to the Reserve Bank of India, where he played an advisory role in the development of the debt market, banking sector reforms, pension fund reforms, targeting of real exchange rate. After the two-year deputation with RBI, Patel became a Consultant to the Government of India in the Ministry of Finance, Department of Economic Affairs – a position he held from 1998 to 2001.
- Between 2000 and 2004, Dr. Patel worked with several High Level Committees at both Central and State Government level, including Competition Commission, Task Force on Direct Taxes, Prime Minister’s Task Force on Infrastructure, Group of Ministers on Telecom Matters, Advisory Committee on Research Projects and Market Studies, Committee on Civil Aviation Reforms, Expert Group on State Electricity Boards and High Level Expert Group on Civil & Defence Services Pension System.
- On 11 January 2013, Urjit Patel was appointed as Deputy Governor of RBI for a period of three years.[3] He took over charge of the vital Monetary Policy Department, succeeding Subir Gokarn to the post.
