Revenue Secretary Sanjay Malhotra named RBI Governor for three years

Malhotra is an IIT-Kanpur alumnus and also holds a masters degree in public policy from Princeton University, US.

Revenue Secretary Sanjay Malhotra will be the next RBI Governor for a period of three years, cleared by the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet on December 9, as per a notification issued by the Department of Personnel and Training (DPoT).

Sanjay Malhotra, 56, will take over from Shaktikanta Das on December 11 as the 26th Governor of RBI.

About The Next RBI Governor

Sanjay Malhotra is serving as the Revenue Secretary and is a 1990-batch IAS officer of the Rajasthan cadre. Malhotra, who has, in the past, worked as chairman and managing director of state-run REC, has been instrumental towards achieving the recent buoyancy in tax collections.

Malhotra is also an IIT-Kanpur alumnus and holds a master's degree in public policy from Princeton University, US.

He is the ex-officio Secretary to the GST Council and walks on tricky terrain when it comes to states’ expectations on the Goods and Services Tax. Before this, Malhotra was Secretary in the Department of Financial Services, where he handled key reforms and policy decisions in the banking and financial sectors. Read more about his tenure as the DFS Secretary here.

Previously, he has served as an Additional Secretary in the Ministry of Power, where he was involved in implementing the Rs 3 lakh crore power distribution reform.

His expertise spans public finance, energy reforms, as well as economic administration, along with his leadership at the Department of Revenue will be seen as crucial experience as he steps into a new role as the central bank governor.

He comes to the Mint Street with extensive experience in finance and taxation, and has played an instrumental role in tax policy formulation in respect of direct and indirect taxes.

Key Reactions

Reacting to the development, Former Statistician Pronab Sen told CNBC-TV18 he is a 'little surprised, but not entirely.'

"Finance Ministry bureaucrats have been at RBI, so I am not very surprised. The pedigree has been at par with Governors of the past", said Rajnish Kumar, former Chairman of SBI on the appointment. "RBI has its own understanding of the market, and that is how the policy making works. The data with RBI is not available to any market participants," Rajnish Kumar added.

HR Khan, former Deputy Governor said the processes of RBI are so robust that people who come to helm the central bank end up appreciating it.

Deepali Pant, former ED at RBI said the new governor will have to watch over inflation control, Rupee movements and ongoing geopolitical development.

Shaktikanta Das' Legacy

Shaktikanta Das was appointed as the 25th Governor of the RBI on December 12, 2018, after the abrupt exit of Urjit Patel. Shaktikanta was granted an extension after completing a three-year terms in office, with his extended term ending on Tuesday.

Das, a retired 1980-batch IAS officer of Tamil Nadu cadre, had served as the Economic Affairs Secretary, Revenue Secretary as well Fertiliser Secretary. He also was India’s Alternate Governor at the World Bank, ADB, NDB as well as the AIIB. In the Tamil Nadu government, he had served as the Principal Secretary (Industries), Special Commissioner (Revenue), and Revenue Secretary. Das, 67, earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in history from St. Stephen’s College, University of Delhi.

Governor Shaktikanta Das was ranked the top central banker by the US-based Global Finance magazine earlier this year. This was the second consecutive year that he has been ranked as the top central banker globally. You can also read about the key highlights of Shaktikanta Das' career here.

In the past few months, and especially in the past few days, pressure from Delhi on the Reserve Bank and its Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) to cut interest rates had been growing. Read more here.