“A BIG thank you to the entire Team RBI.” That’s what the Reserve Bank of India’s 25th Governor, Shaktikanta Das, wrote on the last day of his stint on Tuesday hours before demitting office. Summarising his six-year experience at the top helm of the central bank and banking regulator, Das highlighted that restoring a balance between inflation and growth is the most important task ahead of the RBI. Das took to microblogging site X (formerly Twitter) to thank Prime Minister Narendra Modi for granting him the opportunity to serve the country and for “his guidance and encouragement”, and Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman for “her constant support and backing”. 

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Das expressed confidence that the next RBI Governor, Sanjay Malhotra, will do his best given his vast experience. Malhotra’s appointment as RBI Governor takes effect on Wednesday, December 11, for three years. 

 

 

Malhotra will have to navigate the changing world order, effectively deal with cyber threats, and focus on harnessing new technologies, Das said during a press conference on his last day in office.

 

 

He also expressed gratitude to his colleagues at the RBI and other stakeholders in the financial sector as well as the economy. 

Here are some of the key takeaways from what the RBI Governor said: 

Fiscal-monetary coordination at its best in six years

Das said that the fiscal-monetary coordination was at its best during the last six years.

RBI successfully navigated an exceptionally difficult period of unprecedented global shocks

He hoped for the RBI to grow “even taller as an institution of trust and credibility”, extending warm wishes to each one of his colleagues at the central bank. 

Growth not impacted just by repo rate, but by several factors

The RBI Governor said that “everyone is entitled to their views but as I look at it, growth is impacted by (a) multiplicity of factors, not just (the) repo rate”.

During Das’s stint as the RBI Govenror, the repo rate moved within a 250-basis-point (bps) range between 4.0 per cent and 6.5 per cent. 

Finance Ministry and RBI’s views can differ at times, but…

The outgoing RBI chief said that the views of the finance ministry and the RBI can differ at times, but “in my tenure, we have been able to resolve all such issues”. 

The coordination between the two has been at its best in the past six years, he asserted.

RBI governors keep in mind that…

Das also highlighted that the RBI governors keep in mind the requirements of the wider economy. “It is a judgment call that every governor takes,” he said. 

6-year Journey Draws to a Close

It was in December 2018 when Das took office as the RBI Governor upon the resignation of Urjit Patel.

During Das’s stint, the RBI provided record dividends to the government. This year, the central bank handed over a record dividend of Rs 2.11 lakh crore to the exchequer.

Das also steered the country’s monetary policy response during the depths of the pandemic, which triggered a full lockdown in 2020.

In his previous stints as Economic Affairs Secretary and Revenue Secretary, Das was instrumental in planning and executing the demonetisation drive, and in the rollout of the Goods and Services Tax (GST).

During his term in the Finance Ministry, he was directly associated with the preparation of as many as eight Union Budgets.