An old finance ministry hand, Das has handled various responsibilities including demonetization
Shaktikanta Das, 61, a soft spoken bureaucrat and a former economic affairs secretary will be the next governor of Reserve Bank of India (RBI). He takes over from Urjit Patel, whose sudden resignation had caught the government unawares. But the swiftness with which the government decided his successor is expected to calm the markets.
Colleagues who worked with him in the finance ministry say he is a balanced person who will not topple the apple-cart but rather prefer to work around difficult situations. Having managed the demonetization exercise, he has also worked closely with RBI as economic affairs secretary.
Das, who hails from Odisha, will take over as the 25th governor after the appointments committee of the Union Cabinet handpicked him for a period of three years. An alumnus of the prestigious St Stephen College, he was a history student.
An old hand at the finance ministry, Das has juggled various responsibilities, including drafting the Union Budget as joint secretary in the finance ministry. Later, he held the fort as secretary, economic affairs that deals with monetary policy issues. He was brought to the finance ministry after the BJP came to power in 2014.
"The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet has approved the appointment of Shaktikanta Das, IAS Retd, former Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs, as Governor, Reserve Bank of India for a period of three years," said a government statement.
The speed with which the government decided on the successor to the outgoing governor Urjit Patel is going to calm the markets, especially the forex markets.
"This will ensure continuity in monetary policy making and regulatory measures even as the global economy is passing through uncertain times. The financial markets will also significantly benefit from the appointment of new governor given his rich prior experience in fiscal policies and trade. This will also ensure a convergence of domestic and external policies, said Rajnish Kumar, chairman, State Bank of India.
The biggest bone of contention between former RBI governor Urjit Patel and the government was on the utilisation of the central bank's excess reserves and relaxing some of the measures that RBI had set in to resolve the bad loans. A committee was to be set up to decide on the utilization of the reserves.
H R Khan, former deputy governor, RBI said, "Das is a soft spoken person who is capable of taking a firm decision after listening to all the stakeholders."
Das takes over at a time when there is a stand-off between Mint Street and the finance ministry is still fresh and yet to be settled. He will also have to tackle a very strong Board with external members.
Das played a key role during the 2016 demonetization drive of the Modi government. He was recently appointed as India's Sherpa at the annual G-20 meeting held at Buenos Aires.
A senior bureaucrat who worked with him in the finance ministry said, "He is a balanced person, soft spoken who would not topple the apple cart but work around difficult situations."
Das is currently the member of the 15th Finance Commission. Before joining the Commission about a year back, Das, a retired Tamil Nadu cadre Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer of 1980 batch, served as secretary of Department of Economic Affairs (DEA) in the finance ministry during September 2015 and May 2017.
"Shaktikanta Das is a very capable, mature and fine human being. He has all the qualities needed for RBI governor. He is an amicable personality who takes people along and is not a confrontationist. He conducts himself very gracefully, not only with his colleagues but with the people at all levels." said Ramesh Chand, a 15th Finance Commission member.
NORTH BLOCK TO RESERVE BANK
- A 1980 batch IAS officer of the Tamil Nadu cadre
- Post graduate in history from the St Stephens College, Delhi
- Has 37-year-long tenure as a bureaucrat
- Part of Budget making for five consecutive years during UPA regime
- Was brought back to the finance ministry as revenue secretary by NDA
- Played a part in demonetization and rollout of Goods and Services Tax
- Is a member of the 15th Finance Commission, a ministerial rank
- He was recently appointed as India’s Sherpa at the annual G-20 meeting held at Buenos Aires
- He held the fort as secretary, economic affairs that deals with monetary policy issues
- He takes reins of Reserve Bank at a time when stand-off between RBI and the finance ministry is still fresh
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