Shaktikanta Das beat these 4 top rivals to RBI Governor's post
Shaktikanta Das, 61, a former finance secretary and currently a member of the federal finance commission, and one of India's serving G20 representatives, was named as new RBI governor after Urjit Patel quit. He was widely perceived to be a contender for the top job at the RBI after the exit of former governor Raghuram Rajan in 2016. He previously served on the central bank`s board. Das came under fire for his pro-demonetisation stance and he was the most visible and vocal bureaucrat at the time Modi withdrew the high-value bank notes in 2016.
Last year, Das criticised the methodology of global rating agencies and sought a sovereign rating upgrade. Das has worked extensively in the budget division under both Modi`s government and the previous coalition led by the Congress. Here are 4 men that Shaktikanta Das beat: Image source: PTI
HASMUKH ADHIA:
Adhia, 60, retired as finance secretary in November. He was viewed as close to Modi and known as someone handpicked by Modi to spearhead the government`s most controversial move to date to abolish high-value banknotes, the so-called demonetisation.
He also served as principal secretary to Modi from 2003 to 2006, when Modi was chief minister of Gujarat state.
Adhia was at the front line of investors` ire after a botched implementation of the nationwide goods and services tax in 2017. Critics said its complexities drove many small enterprises out of business and cost hundreds of thousands of people their jobs.
He was also criticised for implementing a tax on long-term capital gains that sent the stock markets tumbling. Widely known for his proximity to the top ranks of the BJP, the Gujarat-cadre bureaucrat moved to the finance ministry in 2014, months after Modi became prime minister. Image source: PTI
SUBHASH CHANDRA GARG:
Garg, 58, the economic affairs secretary, was among the most outspoken in defence of the government as tension with the RBI were building up over governance and banking issues. He called for more liquidity for the troubled shadow banking sector and also questioned the RBI`s governance structure. Garg also waded into controversy for undermining the central bank`s autonomy with his suggestion that India needed an independent payment regulatory board.
Perceived to be the finance ministry`s most staunch defender of its fiscal path, he has for months played down fears of a weakening rupee and steered attention to the RBI`s forex reserves as firepower to defend against any currency volatility. Image source: PTI
SANJEEV SANYAL:
Sanyal is principal economic adviser to the finance ministry. An Oxford alumni, Sanyal represents India in several international forums and is the co-chair of the framework working group of the G20. Sanyal, who quit as managing director and global strategist at Deutsche Bank in Mumbai in 2015 to join Modi`s finance ministry team, has worked in financial markets since the mid-1990s.
He has been closely involved in the bankruptcy reform process in his current role in the finance ministry. Sanyal has written several books on Indian history and geography. Image source: PTI
RAKESH MOHAN:
Mohan, 70, had two stints as a deputy governor of the RBI. He has also served as secretary at the department of economic affairs in the finance ministry, and held positions at the International Monetary Fund. He has previously been in charge of monetary policy, financial markets, economic research and statistics at the RBI. Mohan has written three books on urban economics and development, along with two on monetary policy.
Mohan, who has a PhD in economics from Princeton, teaches at Yale University as a senior fellow at the Jackson Institute for Global Affairs. Image source: PTI