Shaktikanta Das retired as Economic Affairs Secretary in 2017.
Shaktikanta Das has been appointed the new Governor of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). The former IAS officer has spent years at the highest levels of economic and financial decision making in the country and is widely recognised as one of the faces of the demonetisation of Rs 500 and Rs 1000 notes in November 2016.
Here are 10 things to know about the new RBI Governor:
1. Fact 1
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Shaktikanta Das was an IAS officer of the 1980 batch and was part of the Tamil Nadu cadre. He is originally from Odisha and is 60 years old.
2. Fact 2
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He began his service in 1982 and served in a number departments of the Tamil Nadu government, with multiple stints in the Finance Department. From 2008, he served in the Union government on Central deputation. He retired in May 2017.
3. Fact 3
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Through his career in the IAS, he served more than 15 years in finance. He served in the Finance Department of the Tamil Nadu government for a cumulative seven years. He then spent a cumulative eight years in different departments of the Ministry of Finance in the Centre.
4. Fact 4
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Of his long tenure in finance, Das served three years at the very top of the economic and finance policy structure - over a year as Revenue Secretary and just under two years as Economic Affairs Secretary.
5. Fact 5
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He is widely recognised across the country for his regular appearance on televised press conferences as Economic Affairs Secretary after the demonetisation of November 2016. He is often recalled as the officer who delivered information in a simple and crisp manner in English and Hindi, and on occasion even in Tamil in response to a reporter.
6. Fact 6
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Das has undergone mid-career courses and training programmes at the National Institute of Bank Management (NIBM), the Administrative Staff College in Hyderabad, IIM-Bangalore and IIM-Calcutta.
7. Fact 7
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Das takes over the helm of the Reserve Bank from Urjit Patel, his comrade at many of the post-demonetisation press conferences. Patel had resigned on Monday, citing personal reasons.
8. Fact 8
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However, Patel resignation comes after a public debate over the lines of authority and autonomy of the RBI. Patel's predecessor Raghuram Rajan has said Patel's resignation was a mark of protest.
9. Fact 9
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Critics of the Narendra Modi regime's attempt to reinforce the principle of the RBI as an arm of the government see Das's appointment as RBI Governor as an attempt to place a pliant man at the top of the central bank.
10. Fact 10
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However, as someone who has served as a top official in a key department during the tenure of the Modi dispensation, Das is seen as someone who enjoys the confidence of the government and is expected to be more aligned with the government's fiscal and economic perspectives.
