A retired IAS officer, Shaktikanta Das was economic affairs secy during demonetisation, and faces a host of challenges left behind by Urjit Patel.
New Delhi: The Narendra Modi government Tuesday appointed former bureaucrat Shaktikanta Das as the 25th governor of the Reserve Bank of India.
Das has been appointed for a period of three years by the appointments committee of the cabinet, the government said in a statement.
He steps in to fill the position that fell vacant after the abrupt resignation of Urjit Patel on Monday.
The face of demonetisation
A 1980 batch IAS officer of the Tamil Nadu cadre, Das retired as secretary of the Department of Economic Affairs in the Finance Ministry in May 2017. The soft-spoken bureaucrat held senior posts in the tenures of both the Congress-led UPA and the BJP-led NDA governments.
Das was the face of the government during the demonetisation drive, in his role as the economic affairs secretary. He worked closely with the RBI to streamline the printing of the new currency notes, and coordinated with other government departments to ensure adequate supply of notes across India.
Even after his retirement, Das has continued to find favour with the Modi government. He is the government’s sherpa (emissary) in the G-20, as well as a member of the 15th Finance Commission.