Shaktikanta Das assumes as 25th RBI Governor; says will do everything to uphold Central Bank's autonomy

Shaktikanta Das addressed media in a press conference where he vowed to uphold the professionalism, core values, credibility and autonomy of RBI.

Das is the first bureaucrat to head India’s monetary authority in almost five years. (Image: PTI)

New Delhi: A day after being appointed as the new Governor of Reserve Bank of India (RBI), Shaktikanta Das addressed media in a press conference where he vowed to uphold the professionalism, core values, credibility and autonomy of the Central bank. “I will try and uphold professionalism, core values, credibility and autonomy of this institution. It’s an honour and great opportunity to serve RBI. I will try my best to work with everyone and work in the interest of Indian economy,” he said. Das was appointed as the new RBI chief on Tuesday after Urjit Patel tendered his resignation on Monday citing personal reasons. “I have convened a meeting with CEOs and MDs of public sector banks tomorrow morning. Banking is an important segment in our economy and it is facing several challenges that need to be dealt with. It is the banking sector on which I would like to focus immediately,” the RBI Governor said. Das is the first bureaucrat to head India’s monetary authority in almost five years. Soon after taking charge as the RBI chief, Das took to Twitter and thanked everyone. “Assumed charge as Governor, Reserve Bank of India. Thank you each and everyone for your good wishes,” he wrote. When asked about the ongoing tussle between government and RBI over the issue of autonomy, RBI chief said, "I don't know if the relationship is good or not but we have to have stakeholders consultation. Govt is not just a stakeholder but also runs the country, economy and manages major policy decisions. So, there has to be a discussion between the government and RBI." Das is the former Secretary of Department of Economic Affairs and also a retired 1980-batch Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer from Tamil Nadu cadre. In May 2017, he retired as Economic Affairs Secretary and later was appointed as India's Sherpa to the G-20. Das is also a member of 15th Finance Commission of India. The RBI Governor has also worked under three different finance ministers of the country including P Chidambaram, Pranab Mukherjee and Arun Jaitley. He has also worked on five consecutive budgets under Chidambaram and Mukherjee and was brought back into the Finance Ministry after the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government came to power in 2014.