Shaktikanta Das given 3-year extension as RBI governor

The Government of India has extended the tenure of Reserve Bank of India (RBI) governor Shaktikanta Das for period of three years, through an order issued late on Friday.

“The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet has approved the reappointment of Shaktikanta Das, lAS Retd. (TN:80) as Governor, Reserve Bank of India for a period of three years beyond 10.12.2021 or until further orders, whichever is earlier,” read the order.

Mr Das was appointed as RBI’s 25th governor on December 11, 2018 for a period of three years, after the then governor Urjit Patel resigned before the end of his term. 

Prior to that, Mr. Das had served as Revenue Secretary and Economic Affairs Secretary in the Ministry of Finance.

With the extension, the former IAS officer of Tamil Nadu cadre will head the RBI till December, 2024. He is the first RBI Governor to get extension after the BJP-led government came to power in 2014.

Mr. Das, 1980 batch officer, played an important role in steering the economy during the COVID-19 period. Under his leadership, RBI announced more than 100 measures to maintain financial stability and push growth during the unprecedented crisis.

To steer the economy out of the woods, triggered by a once-in-a-century pandemic, he took both conventional and unconventional measures.

The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) headed by him brought down the benchmark interest rate to record low of 4 per cent last year in May, and since then it has maintained an accommodative stance to support the economy. The government’s largest ever borrowing of Rs 12.60 lakh crore was also conducted smoothly.

In his earlier stint as Economic Affairs Secretary from 2015 to 2017, Das worked closely with the central bank and oversaw demonetisation of high-value notes in late 2016.

After his retirement, he was named India’s G-20 sherpa and was also appointed as a member of the 15th Finance Commission.

(With inputs from PTI)