Instead of bringing in anyone from outside, the Government on Saturday chose to promote RBI’s Deputy Governor Urjit Patel (52) as the new Governor to take over on September 4 after the 3-year term of Raghuram Rajan (53) ends. Patel will succeed Raghuram Rajan, and will become the 24th Governor of the RBI.
Advertisement
While the outgoing RBI governor is known as somebody who openly took on the government’s critical reform initiatives in previous year or so, Patel is known as someone who has so far mainly stuck to his mandate and commented mostly on monetary policy-related issues.
On 11 January 2013, Urjit Patel was appointed as Deputy Governor of RBI for a period of three years.
Dr Urjit R Patel is set to take up his new position as the 24chief of India’s central bank on 4 September and he has some big shoes to fill.
I believe that he will be able to contain inflation with Monetary Policy Committee to assist him.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government this month formally agreed to adopt Rajan’s inflation target of 2 to 6 percent in the medium term.
Some of Patel’s earlier assignments include Member of the Integrated Energy Policy Committee (2004-2006); Executive Director and Member of the management Committee, IDFC (1997-2006); Member of the board, Gujarat State Petroleum Corporation Ltd, and President (Business Development), RIL. It was said that a lobby that did not want this clean-up and wanted the easy loans policies to continue were behind the literal ouster of Mr Rajan who will have had one of the shortest terms – three years – as governor.
The 52-year old deputy governor will have a three-year term beginning September.
New Delhi, Aug 22 The government today hoped that Governor-designate Urjit Patel will “rise to the occasion” and use his experience of handling monetary policy at RBI to maintain a balance between inflation and economic growth. Patel, one of the RBI’s four deputy governors, looked after monetary policy department since 2013. Industry body Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (Ficci) credited Patel with being the architect of the current monetary policy stance. “His appointment signals continuity of policy intent, both on part of RBI and the government”.
Advertisement
“His (Patel) appointment is the right decision and is in the interest of the country”. Patel himself produced the target of four percent consumer price inflation, with CPI now topping 6 percent. In the past, Dr. Patel has also worked with several high level committees at state and Central government level.
