India’s central bank chief Shaktikanta Das gets 3-year extension

THE government has extended the term of Reserve Bank of India (RBI) governor Shaktikanta Das by three years till December 2024.

Das was appointed the RBI's 25th governor on December 11, 2018, for three years after the abrupt resignation of his predecessor Urjit Patel.

An official order said the government has reappointed Das as the governor of the central bank for three years beyond December 10, 2021.

The decision was taken by the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet headed by prime minister Narendra Modi.

The former IAS officer of Tamil Nadu cadre is the first RBI governor to get an extension after the BJP-led government came to power in 2014. Raghuram Rajan was denied an extension in 2016, while Urjit Patel quit before the completion of his three-year term.

Das, 1980 batch officer, played an important role in steering the economy during the Covid-19 period. Under his leadership, RBI announced more than 100 measures to maintain financial stability and push growth during the unprecedented crisis.

To steer the economy out of the woods, triggered by a once-in-a-century pandemic, he took both conventional and unconventional measures.

The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) headed by him brought down the benchmark interest rate to a record low of 4 per cent in May last year and since then it has maintained an accommodative stance to support the economy. The government's largest-ever borrowing of Rs 12.60 trillion was also conducted smoothly.

In his earlier stint as the economic affairs secretary from 2015 to 2017, Das worked closely with the central bank and oversaw the demonetisation of high-value notes in late 2016.

After his retirement, he was named India's G-20 sherpa and was also appointed as a member of the 15th Finance Commission.

(PTI)