RBI distributes portfolios of B P Kanungo among remaining deputy governors

Kanungo was in charge of currency management, IT, payments, forex, legal, other departments

Reserve Bank of India on Monday distributed portfolios of B P Kanungo among remaining three deputy governors as he retired last week. 

The senior-most deputy governor BP Kanungo retired from the Reserve Bank on completion of his one-year extension on Friday. Now, the central bank has reshuffled its 32 departments among the three deputy governors -- M K Jain, Patra and M Rajeshwar Rao.

Besides the portfolio of monetary policy department, Patra has been assigned 10 other departments, including external investments and operations, statistics and information management, financial markets operations and financial stability unit, the RBI said in a statement.

Jain has been assigned 11 departments, including of co-ordination, information technology, supervision, financial inclusion and development, human resource management, and premises.

As per the RBI's statement, Rao will look after 10 departments, including regulation, communication, currency management, payment and settlement systems, legal, foreign exchange and risk monitoring.

Kanungo joined the RBI in 1982 and was in charge of currency management, external investments, operations, payment, and settlement system, among others, during the four-year term as the deputy governor, which began in April 2017.

The government had appointed him as a deputy governor in March 2017 when Urjit Patel was the governor and he took charge on April 3, 2017, for a three-year term ending April 2, 2020, but was given a one-year extension.

There was an expectation that he might a second extension after the government had cancelled interviews for the post of the deputy governor, scheduled for March 10.

As deputy governor, Kanungo headed the departments of currency management, external investments & operations, government & bank accounts, information technology, payments & settlement systems, foreign exchange, internal debt management and the legal department.

Before being elevated as an executive director, he also served as the head of regional offices of the Reserve Bank in Jaipur and Kolkata, besides holding the position of the banking ombudsman for Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh.

Born in May 1959 in Odisha, he has a Master's degree in humanities from Utkal University and a Bachelor's degree in law.

With his retirement, the RBI is left with three deputy governors -- Mahesh Kumar Jain, Michael Patra and Rajeshwar Rao, who was recently appointed.

Governor Shaktikanta Das' three-year term will also come up for renewal in December.

Das took charge on December 11, 2018, after Urjit Patel's surprise resignation nine months before his three-year term was to end reportedly over sharp differences with the government over a host of issues.

The following will be the portfolios of the Deputy Governors with effect from April 5, 2021:

M.K. Jain: 1. Co-ordination, 2. Central Security Cell, 3. Consumer Education and Protection Department, 4. Department of Information Technology, 5. Department of Supervision, 6. Financial Inclusion and Development Department, 7. Human Resource Management Department, 8. Premises Department, 9. Rajbhasha Department, 10. Right to Information (RIA) Division

11. Secretary’s Department.

Dr. M.D. Patra: 1. Corporate Strategy and Budget Department, 2. Department of Economic and Policy Research, 3. Department of External Investments & Operations, 4. Department of Government and Bank Accounts, 5. Department of Statistics and Information Management, 6. Deposit Insurance and Credit Guarantee Corporation, 7. Financial Markets Operations Department,

8. Financial Markets Regulation Department, 9. Financial Stability Unit, 10. International Department, 11. Monetary Policy Department.

M. Rajeshwar Rao: 1. Department of Regulation, 2. Department of Communication, 3. Department of Currency Management, 4. Department of Payment and Settlement Systems, 5. Enforcement Department, 6. Foreign Exchange Department, 7. Inspection Department, 8. Internal Debt Management Department, 9. Legal Department, 10. Risk Monitoring Department.

Meanwhile, the central bank is widely expected to keep key interest steady on Wednesday amid a surge in COVID-19 cases in the country, but may revise its inflation projections higher.

In a Reuters poll, 65 of 66 economists surveyed said the RBI's monetary policy committee (MPC) will leave rates unchanged.