The government has reappointed central bank Governor Shaktikanta Das for another three-year term, keeping the career bureaucrat at the helm to help guide the economy’s recovery from the ravages of Covid-19.
The decision announced in a statement from the cabinet and effective when his current term ends Dec. 10, ensures continuity in monetary policy settings and signals to investors that any normalization of interest rates in the post-pandemic era will only be gradual.
Under Das, 64, the central bank endeavored to support growth and maintain liquidity through the worst of the pandemic by slashing interest rates and pursuing quantitative easing. His reappointment was not a surprise, with Das working to ensure a healthy working relationship with the government after his predecessor Urjit Patel resigned suddenly in December 2018 amid differences with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s administration.
Shaktikanta Das took charge as the 25th governor of the Reserve Bank of India on December 12. A veteran bureaucrat, Das has held many important positions in the central and state governments in the areas of finance, taxation, industries, infrastructure, etc. Prior to this appointment, he was the secretary of the department of revenue and department of economic affairs at the ministry of finance.
During his 38-year long career, he served as secretary of revenue and subsequently economic affairs in the ministry of finance. Das was a secretary in the department of economic affairs when Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the high-value currency ban in November 2016.
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