RBI notifies Urjit Patel's appointment as RBI governor

Patel, who served as the deputy governor since January 2013, took over from Raghuram Rajan, effective September 4

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Monday formally notified the appointment of Urjit Patel as the 24th governor of the central bank, effective September 4. 

Patel, who served as the deputy governor since January 2013, took over from Raghuram Rajan. Patel was re-appointed as the deputy governor on January 11, upon completion of his three-year term.

“Among his assignments as deputy governor, Dr Patel chaired the expert committee to revise and strengthen the monetary policy framework. Representing India, he actively participated in steering the signing into force of the inter-governmental treaty and the inter-central bank agreement among Brics nations, which led to the establishment of the contingent reserve arrangement, a swap line framework among the central banks of these countries,” the RBI said, in a notification on its website, which also carried a photograph of Patel. 

Even before joining the RBI formally, Patel has had a long association with the central bank. 

On deputation from the International Monetary Fund to the RBI during 1996-1997, Patel provided advice on development of the debt market, banking sector reforms, pension fund reforms and evolution of the foreign exchange market. 

He was a consultant to the ministry of finance (department of economic affairs), government of India, from 1998 to 2001. He has also had other assignments in the public and private sectors. Patel worked closely with several central and state government high-level committees, including the task force on direct taxes (Kelkar Committee), the high-level expert group for reviewing civil and defence services pension system, the Prime Minister’s task force on infrastructure, the group of ministers on telecom matters, the committee on civil aviation reforms and the ministry of power’s expert group on state electricity boards.

Patel, a PhD in economics from Yale University, an MPhil from University of Oxford and a BSc from the University of London, has several publications in the areas of Indian macroeconomics, monetary policy, public finance, the Indian financial sector, international trade and regulatory economics.