RBI to ensure growth to continue, stability in policy, says governor Sanjay Malhotra

Will try to give continuity in policy, says new RBI Governor Sanjay Malhotra

The newly appointed Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) Governor Sanjay Malhotra said that the central bank will continue to ensure growth this country have and stability in the policy.

“The huge responsibility we have in ensuring that the growth this country actually has that continues, which is part of this theme that will continue. Stability in policy and continuity is very important. Decisions will be taken with public interest to preserve trust in this institution,” Malhotra said during its press conference after assuming office as governor of RBI.

He said he believes that one of the most important role of central bank is to spread financial inclusion with banking sector.

Malhotra, who began his three-year term today, is the second consecutive career civil servant to take charge of the central bank. He earlier served as the Revenue Secretary.

"How we are going to be able to use technology to reduce cost to make financial inclusion more accessible and all pervasive is one pillar we will work on. For this, innovation is key and we have to conscious of the risks they entail. We need to be conscious that we do not have monopoly of all knowledge, information, expertise is available outside as well, internationally and nationally. Consultation is another key pillar for policy making," said Malhotra.

"All businesses, all people they do need this (policy) stability rather than (a) day-to-day kind of a policy," Malhotra said at a press conference in Mumbai after he took charge for a three-year term.

"We continue to uphold this value, this principle of stability."

Shaktikanta Das was one of the longest-serving RBI governors in recent years.

At a policy meeting earlier this month, the last under Das, the monetary policy committee left interest rates unchanged but the central bank eased banking system liquidity conditions.

Sanjay Malhotra, 56, is a 1990-batch IAS officer of the Rajasthan cadre. He had earlier worked as the chairman and managing director of state-run Rural Electrification Corporation (REC) Limited and has been instrumental towards achieving the recent buoyancy in tax collections.

The new RBI Governor did his graduation from IIT-Kanpur and holds a master's degree in public policy from Princeton University, US.