New Delhi: Former finance secretary and current member of the finance commission Shaktikanta Das has been appointed as the Governor of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). The 63-year old Indian economist had served as the deputy governor for three years and is currently a member of the Fifteenth Finance Commission of India and India's Sherpa to G20. A 1980 batch IAS officer from Tamil Nadu cadre, Das retired as the Economic Affairs Secretary in May 2017. Das’s appointment came a day after Urjit Patel put down his papers as the RBI chief citing personal reasons.

"The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet has approved the appointment of Shaktikanta Das, former Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs, as Governor of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) for a period of three years," news agency Indo-Asian News Service (IANS) quoted an official order as saying.

Das was highly speculated to become the RBI Governor after the exit of Raghuram Rajan. Das has also served on the central bank's board. Das came under fire for his pro-demonetisation stance and he was the most visible and vocal bureaucrat at the time when Prime Minister Narendra Modi decided to scrap the high-value banknotes in 2016.

In an unprecedented move, Patel on Monday announced that he has stepped down from RBI Governor post with immediate effects citing personal reasons. Patel took charge as the RBI Governor on September 4, 2016, after Raghuram Rajan resigned from the post in on June 19, 2016. Even former RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan expressed concerns over Patel's resignation and said that it is a matter of concern for all Indians.

Patel's resignation and Das's appointment come days ahead of the much crucial RBI Board meeting which is scheduled to take place on December 14. The meeting tends to be significant as issues like RBI governance and providing liquidity for Non-Banking Financial Companies (NBFCs).

There was a lot of speculations weeks back about Patel's resignation after the difference between the Central bank and the government came out in public. Even the Deputy RBI Governor Viral Archarya had said that there was a need to ensure RBI's independence.