Government appoints Michael Patra as RBI Deputy Governor

The government has appointed Michael Patra as the Deputy Governor of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), according to a press release by the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet.

Patra, who is already a member of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC), will replace Viral Acharya, who left the post in July 2019. He will be the fourth Deputy Governor of the central bank.

Patra is also the executive director of the Monetary Policy Department. He is expected to takeover over the monetary policy portfolio, which was previously managed by Acharya, according to media reports.

At the last MPC meet, Patra had, along with the other members, voted for a pause in RBI's key interest rates. He was earlier widely considered an "inflation-hawk".