Revenue Secretary Sanjay Malhotra has been appointed Governor of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). He will take charge from Wednesday, December 11, 2024, for three years. Malhotra is a 1990-batch Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer from the Rajasthan cadre.
This appointment puts an end to weeks of speculation about who would lead monetary policy in the world’s fastest-growing major economy. A Computer Science graduate from the Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur, and has a Master's in Public Policy from Princeton University, US. In a career spanning over 33 years, Malhotra has worked in several sectors including power, finance and taxation, information technology, mines etc.
Before he was appointed Revenue Secretary, he was Secretary in the Department of Financial Services. He has extensive experience in finance and taxation at the state as well as the central government. Malhotra was known to weigh in with his insight on discussions around revenue trends. He has also been vocal about the over-reach of tax officers, asking them to refrain from hurting business sentiment in their pursuit of revenue targets.
Malhotra played an instrumental role in tax policy formulation for direct and indirect taxes. Malhotra replaces Shaktikanta Das, whose tenure will end today, December 10, 2024.
Das was appointed the 25th Governor of the RBI on December 12, 2018, after the abrupt exit of his predecessor Urjit Patel. Das was granted an extension after completing his three-year term in office. Soon after taking charge of the RBI, Das provided confidence to the market shaken by the sudden resignation of Patel amid a tussle between the RBI and the government over the issue of surplus transfer.
Shaktikanta Das, concludes his tenure marked by adept crisis management, particularly during the COVID pandemic. He championed financial inclusion, digital innovation, and steered the central bank through economic volatility. His successor, Sanjay Malhotra, inherits a strengthened institution but faces ongoing global and domestic challenges.
Shaktikanta Das, expressed on his social media, “A BIG thank you to the entire Team RBI. Together, we successfully navigated an exceptionally difficult period of unprecedented global shocks. May the RBI grow even taller as an institution of trust and credibility.”
