The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has announced the reappointment of Urjit Patel as deputy governor of the central bank for another three-year term.
Patel's current three-year tenure was due to end next week.
Patel, who had joined RBI just a few months before the appointment of RBI governor Raghuram Rajan in 2013, is credited with drafting the monetary policy committee document for RBI and is considered the architect of inflation targeting in the country.
He is also credit for shifting the focus of policy away from the WPI to consumer price index, a move that was accepted by the RBI governor Raghuram Rajan.
Considered a close confidant of the RBI governor, Patel is one of the four deputy governors appointed by the bank. The others are HR Khan, R Gandhi and SS Mundra.
Patel has also been instrumental in creation of a panel to set interest rates and altering the rules for management of government debt.
The 52-year-old economics doctorate from Yale was serving as an advisor at Boston Consulting Group prior to his appointment as the RBI deputy governor.
He has also worked with central and state government serving on advisory committees and has also had a stint at IMF.
His stint in the private sector also involves work as the president of business development at Reliance Industries and executive director and member of managing committee of Infrastructure Development Finance Company.
While the deputy governor has been reappointed, what now remains to be seen is whether the current RBI governor gets a second term or the central bank goes for a new leader. Rajan’s term is coming to an end in September.
