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Shaktikanta Das appointed new RBI governor after Urjit Patel's exit

WION Web Team
New Delhi, Delhi, IndiaUpdated: Dec 11, 2018, 06:41 PM IST
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File photo: RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das. Photograph:(Zee News Network)

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Das was widely perceived to be a contender for the top job at the RBI after the exit of former governor Raghuram Rajan in 2016.

The government on Tuesday appointed former finance secretary Shaktikanta Das as the new governor of Reserve Bank of India. He will have a three-year tenure.

Urjit Patel's shock resignation from the post on Monday following a policy tussle with the government had sent tremors through financial markets, and investors were keen to see the government quickly name a credible replacement.

Das, 61, is currently a member of the the finance commission, and one of India's serving G20 representatives. He was widely perceived to be a contender for the top job at the RBI after the exit of former governor Raghuram Rajan in 2016.

He previously served on the central bank's board. Das came under fire for his pro-demonetisation stance and he was the most visible and vocal bureaucrat at the time Modi withdrew the high-value bank notes in 2016.

Last year, Das criticised the methodology of global rating agencies and sought a sovereign rating upgrade. Das has worked extensively in the budget division under both Modi government and the previous coalition led by the Congress.

(With inputs from agencies)