Shaktikanta Das assumes charge as RBI Governor today; Arun Jaitley terms new chief of Mint Street as person with 'right credentials'

New Delhi: Former Economic Affairs Secretary Shaktikanta Das Wednesday assumed charge as the RBI Governor. He replaces Urjit Patel who abruptly resigned amid a face-off with the government over issues related to governance and autonomy of the central bank. Das tweeted about it and thanked everyone for their wishes.

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley termed Das as a person with “right credentials” for the RBI top job. “Das has been a very senior and an experienced civil servant. He has almost his entire career in the management of finances and economic management of the country both, when he was in the state government of Tamil Nadu and also when he was in the Government of India in the Ministry of Finance,” Jaitley said. [caption id=“attachment_5715801” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Shaktikanta Das, newly appointed governor of RBI. Pic courtesy: Twitter[/caption] Jaitley said his appointment was necessitated by the resignation of Urjit Patel as Governor of the RBI on Monday. “I think, he (Das) has the right credentials. He has been extremely professional, has worked under various governments and has excelled himself. I am sure, in meeting the challenges before India’s economy as Governor of Reserve Bank, he will certainly act,” the finance minister said. Shaktikanta Das, who becomes 25th governor of the RBI, is a former IAS officer of Tamil Nadu cadre. Earlier, he was promoted as secretary, Department of Chemicals and Fertilisers, in December 2013 but was brought back to the finance ministry as revenue secretary when the BJP-led government stormed to power in mid-2014. He first played a part in the Modi government’s crackdown on black money and then building a consensus for the impending rollout of the Goods and Services Tax (GST). Moved to the economic affairs department in September 2015, he was in charge when the government on 8 November 2016, withdrew from circulation old 500 and 1,000 rupee notes. From defending the shock announcement to spearheading the remonetisation drive that included the cumbersome process of printing and supplying new 500 and 2,000 rupees notes, his calm composure brought a sense of serenity to an otherwise chaotic situation. Mild-mannered, Das is known to rarely lose his cool and focus mostly on looking at solutions through consensus rather than shoving a solution down—qualities that will come handy at the RBI which is having an unprecedented face-off with the finance ministry. --With agency inputs