Sanjay Malhotra Appointed as New RBI Governor, Replaces Shaktikanta Das
New Delhi, Dec 9: The Central government on Monday appointed Sanjay Malhotra, Secretary (Revenue) in the Ministry of Finance, as the next Governor of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). He will succeed Shaktikanta Das, who has served as RBI Governor for six years, making him the second-longest serving in the position.
Sanjay Malhotra, a 1990 batch Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer of the Rajasthan cadre, is an Engineering Graduate in Computer Science from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Kanpur, and holds a Master’s in Public Policy from Princeton University, US. With a career spanning over 33 years, he has demonstrated leadership in various sectors, including power, finance, taxation, information technology, and mines.
Currently serving as the Secretary (Revenue) in the Ministry of Finance, Malhotra has played a key role in the formulation of tax policy, particularly in direct and indirect taxes. He previously served as the Secretary in the Department of Financial Services under the Ministry of Finance, Government of India, where he gained extensive experience in finance and taxation at both the State and Central Government levels.
Shaktikanta Das, the outgoing RBI Governor, was appointed in December 2018 following the resignation of his predecessor, Urjit Patel, ahead of his tenure’s completion. During his tenure, Das helped restore smoother relations between the central bank and the Finance Ministry, after tensions during Patel’s leadership. Das, also a former IAS officer, had a distinguished career in the Finance Ministry, having served as Secretary in the Department of Revenue and the Department of Economic Affairs. He was also part of the team that worked on eight Union Budgets and played a significant role as a member of the 15th Finance Commission and Sherpa for India at the G20.
Shaktikanta Das will remain a notable figure in India’s financial ecosystem, having contributed to major institutions like the World Bank, Asian Development Bank, New Development Bank, and the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank as India’s alternative governor.
The transition at the helm of the RBI brings in Sanjay Malhotra’s wealth of experience, especially in finance and taxation, to lead the country’s central bank in the coming years.
