Urjit Patel has been appointed the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor. This reflects the government's determination to continue with Raghu Ram Rajan's policy to target inflation. A panel under his chairmanship had earlier proposed inflation-targeting and the setting up of a monetary policy committee. He will be the 24th Governor of the RBI.
"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 statement from the ACC said.
Patel has been serving as Deputy Governor of the central bank for more than three years. He holds a Doctorate (Ph.D.) in Economics from Yale University. He is also a graduate of the University of London and Oxford University. He is known as an expert on inflation and has also been with the IMF and the Boston Consulting Group.
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Thursday held an hour-long discussion with Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the appointment of a new RBI Governor, a post that will fall vacant on September 4.
The following is a brief outline of his education and career so far:
Born October 28,1963 Urjit Patel completed his BA from the London School of Economics [LSE, University of London], and M. Phil. degree from Oxford University
Did his Ph.D. in Economics from Yale University
Worked at the International Monetary Fund in the U.S., India, the Bahamas and Myanmar desks between 1990 and 1995.
Deputed from the IMF to the RBI between 1996 and 97, during which period he advised on the development of debt market, banking sector reforms, pension fund reforms, real exchange rate targeting and evolution of the foreign exchange market
Served as a consultant to the Ministry of Finance, Department of Economic Affairs between 1998 and 2001.
Between 2000 and 2004, he worked closely with several high-level Central and State government committees such as the Task Force on Direct Taxes, the Ministry of Finance, and the Secretariat for the Prime Minister's Task Force on Infrastructure.
Served as president of Business Development at Reliance Industries Limited from 1997 to 2006
Before his appointment as Deputy Governor of RBI in 2013, he was an advisor on energy and infrastructure at The Boston Consulting Group.
Web-link: Our report dated 03 August