Eminent economist Subir Gokarn passes away; was one of the youngest to serve as deputy governor of RBI

Eminent economist and former RBI deputy governor Subir Gokarn passed away on Tuesday. “I share this with a heavy heart…Subir Gokarn, my friend and colleague, passed away a few hours back,” Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister (EAC-PM) member Shamika Ravi said in a tweet. In November 2015, Gokarn was appointed as an executive director on the board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF). He was appointed the deputy governor of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in 2009 for a term of three years and had the distinction of being the youngest deputy governor at that time. He was also associated with Brooking’s India. [caption id=“attachment_551409” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File image of Subir Gokarn (right). AFP[/caption] The finance ministry condoled the sudden demise of Gokarn. Born on 3 October 1959, Gokarn served as the RBI deputy governor from 24 November 2009 to 31 December 2012. “Gokarn has had an illustrious career spanning over three decades. He was one of the youngest to serve as deputy governor of the Reserve Bank of India,” the finance ministry said in a release. A noted economist, Gokarn had joined the IMF Executive Board as ED (India) in December 2015 and was to complete his term in October this year. Prior to joining the IMF, Gokarn was the Director of Research at the Brookings India in New Delhi. “The Union Finance Minister, while paying her last respects, recalled his intellect and articulation of India’s concerns at the IMF,” said the release. He is survived by his wife Jyotsna Bapat and daughter Kanak Gokarn. He also worked with Standard and Poor’s, National Council of Applied Economic Research and Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research.