NEW DELHI — The Central government on Monday appointed Sanjay Malhotra,
Secretary (Revenue) in the Ministry of Finance as the next Reserve Bank of
India Governor. He will replace Shaktikanta Das, who with a six-year stint is
the second-longest serving RBI Governor.
Sanjay Malhotra is a 1990 batch Indian Administrative
Service (IAS) officer of the Rajasthan cadre. He is an Engineering Graduate in
Computer Science from the Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur and has a
Master's in Public Policy from Princeton University, US.
With demonstrated leadership and excellence in his career
of over 33 years, Sanjay Malhotra has worked in multifarious sectors including
power, finance and taxation, information technology, mines etc. Presently he is
Secretary (Revenue) in the Ministry of Finance. In his previous assignment, he
held the post of Secretary in the Department of Financial Services under the
Ministry of Finance, Government of India, according to the Finance Ministry
website.
He has extensive experience in finance and taxation at
the State as well as the Central Government. As a part of his present
assignment, he plays an instrumental role in tax policy formulation in respect
of direct and indirect taxes.
Shaktikanta Das was first appointed as RBI Governor in
December 2018, after the then-central bank chief, Urjit Patel, resigned before
his tenure was expected to end. Das had been the second longest-serving RBI
Governor after Benegal Rama Rau's seven-year-plus tenure.
Das, who is also a former IAS officer with a long stint
in the Finance Ministry, became governor after retiring from the service, his
tenure as RBI Governor also ushered in a smoother functioning relationship
between the central bank and the Finance Ministry after the friction that
marked his predecessor’s tenure.
Das served as a secretary in the Department of Revenue
and Department of Economic Affairs of the Finance Ministry, where he directly
worked on eight Union Budgets. He was also a member of the 15th Finance
Commission and a Sherpa for India at the G20.
Das has also served as India’s alternative governor in
the World Bank, Asian Development Bank, New Development Bank, and Asian
Infrastructure Investment.
