On Wednesday, Shaktikanta Das, who took charge as the 25th Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor, said that he will uphold values and autonomy of the central bank. “I would not like to go into what the issues between the government and the RBI are but every institution has to maintain its autonomy and also adhere to accountability. I will try and uphold the professionalism, core values, credibility and autonomy of Reserve Bank as an institution,” he said and also added, “All issues can be resolved through discussions…Independence of RBI as an institution is very important and it will remain intact.”
He said, “Inflation targeting very important component of RBI functioning. The outlook looks fairly benign at this stage. I will be watchful of the developments,” ahead of the November retail inflation data scheduled to be released later in the day.
Mr Das will be meeting heads of Mumbai-based public sector banks tomorrow, he said and also added, that Friday’s meeting of the RBI Board will be held as planned. He also said, that there should be talks between the government and the RBI.
He replaced Urjit Patel who abruptly resigned amid a feud with the Nodi-led BJP government over issues related to governance and autonomy of the central bank.
Shaktikanta is a retired 1980 batch Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer of Tamil Nadu cadre. Prior to becoming Reserve Bank of India (RBI) governor, Shaktikanta was a member of Fifteenth Finance Commission of India and India’s sherpa to G20.
Being an IAS officer, Das has served in several capacities for Tamil Nadu governments which also include as Economic Affairs Secretary of India. Revenue Secretary of India, Fertilizers Secretary of India
Noatbly, Mr Das succeeds former RBI boss Urjit Patel who quit amid a feud with the government.
Also read: Urjit Patel resigns: This is how Twitterati reacts