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Who is Urjit Patel

Urjit Patel is presently the Deputy Governor of RBI and is holding this assignment since 2013.

 

Urjit Patel, new, RBI

Ending all media speculations, Urjit Patel was named the next Reserve Bank of India (RBI) governor on Saturday (Aug 20).

The current Deputy Governor of the RBI will take on the new position on Sept 4, post the exit of his predecessor Raghuram Rajan the same day.

He will hold his office for three years with a possible two-year extension.

The 52-year-old, known as the “inflation warrior” of Rajan, became the Deputy Governor in January 2013. He got an extension this January.

“Dr. Urjit R Patel has been appointed as the New Governor of Reserve Bank of India (RBI) for a period of three years with effect from 4th September, 2016. He will replace the present RBI Governor Dr. Raghuram Rajan.

Dr Patel is presently the Deputy Governor of RBI and is holding this assignment since 2013,” said a statement issued by the government.

Here are 10 facts about Patel that you might like to know:

1. Born Oct 28, 1963,Urjit  Patel graduated in Economics from the London School of Economics. He got his M.Phil degree from Oxford University in 1986 and completed his PhD from Yale University in 1990.

2. During 1991-95, Patel was posted at the International Monetary Fund (IMF) desks including the US, Myanmar and India.

3. During the period of 1996-97, he worked as an IMF advisor to the RBI.

4. Before joining RBI, Patel used to be an adviser (Energy and Infrastructure) with The Boston Consulting Group.

5. From 1998-2001, Patel also served as a consultant in the Department of Economic Affairs of the Ministry of Finance.

6. He was appointed as one of the four deputy governors of the RBI by the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government in 2013. He was in-charge of the monetary policy department.

7. Urjit Patel is the first RBI governor chosen by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government.

8. It was Patel, often called “inflation hawk” by media, who suggested that instead of wholesale prices, consumer prices should be taken into account to measure inflation in order to check volatile prices.

9. He has a sound corporate background, having served as the President (Business Development) of Reliance Industries Limited, board member of Gujarat State Petroleum Corporation and Executive Director of Infrastructure Development Finance Company [IDFC] (1997-2006).

10. Since 2009, Patel has been a non-resident Senior Fellow at American think tank The Brookings Institution.

(Sources: RBI, TOI, NDTV Profit, Wikipedia)

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