Mumbai: The Reserve Bank of India (RBI said Urjit Patel had assumed charge as the twenty-fourth Governor of the Reserve Bank of India effective from today after serving as Deputy Governor since January 2013,' RBI said in a press statement. Dr. Patel has been given a three year term. Dr. Patel succeeds Raghuram Rajan, who after serving a three-year term, is going back to academia. On August 20, the appointment committee of cabinet approved the appointment of Dr. Patel for three years, with effect from September 4.
Dr. Patel’s tenure as deputy governor was extended earlier this year. 'Dr. Patel has also served at the International Monetary Fund (IMF). He was on deputation from the IMF to the Reserve Bank during 1996-1997, and in that capacity, he provided advice on the development of the debt market, banking sector reforms, pension fund reforms, and evolution of the foreign exchange market,' RBI said. He was also a consultant to the Ministry of Finance (Department of Economic Affairs), from 1998 to 2001. He has also had other assignments in the public and private sectors.
Dr. Patel has worked closely with several central and state government high level committees, including the Task Force on Direct Taxes (Kelkar Committee), the High Level Expert Group for Reviewing the Civil & Defense Services Pension System, the Prime Minister’s Task Force on Infrastructure, the Group of Ministers on Telecom Matters, the Committee on Civil Aviation Reforms and the Ministry of Power’s Expert Group on State Electricity Boards.
Dr. Patel has several publications in the areas of Indian macroeconomics, monetary policy, public finance, the Indian financial sector, international trade, and regulatory economics. Dr. Patel has a Ph.D in economics from Yale University, an M. Phil from University of Oxford and a B. Sc. from the University of London. (UNI)