Shaktikanta Das

Shaktikanta Das (born 26 February 1957) is a retired 1980 batch Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer of Tamil Nadu cadre. Currently serving as the 25th governor of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), he was earlier a member of the Fifteenth Finance Commission and India's Sherpa to the G20.

Shaktikanta Das
25th Governor of the Reserve Bank of India
Assumed office
12 December 2018
PresidentRam Nath Kovind
Prime MinisterNarendra Modi
Preceded byUrjit Patel
Sherpa of India to the G20
In office
27 November 2017 – 11 December 2018
Appointed byAppointments Committee of the Cabinet
Prime MinisterNarendra Modi
MinisterArun Jaitley
GovernorUrjit Patel
Preceded byArvind Panagariya
Member of the Fifteenth Finance Commission
In office
27 November 2017 – 11 December 2018
Serving with Ashok Lahiri
Anoop Chand
Ramesh Chand
Appointed byPresident of India (then, Ramnath Kovind)
ChairmanN. K. Singh
Succeeded byAjay Narayan Jha
Economic Affairs Secretary
In office
31 August 2015 – 28 May 2017
Appointed byAppointments Committee of the Cabinet
MinisterArun Jaitley
Preceded byRajiv Mehrishi
Succeeded bySubhash Chandra Garg
Revenue Secretary
In office
16 June 2014 – 31 August 2015
Appointed byAppointments Committee of the Cabinet
MinisterArun Jaitley
Preceded byRajiv Thakur
Succeeded byHasmukh Adhia
Fertilizers Secretary
In office
22 June – 22 June
Appointed byAppointments Committee of the Cabinet
Personal details
Born (1957-02-26) 26 February 1957
Bhubaneswar, Orissa, India
(now, Bhubaneswar, Odisha, India)
Alma materUniversity of Delhi (BA, MA)
OccupationRetired IAS officer
ProfessionCivil servant

During his career as an IAS officer, Das served in various capacities for Indian and Tamil Nadu governments, including as Economic Affairs Secretary, Revenue Secretary, Fertilizers Secretary.

Early life and education

Born in Bhubaneswar,[1] Das was schooled at the Demonstration Multipurpose School, Bhubaneswar,[2] and then obtained bachelor's (BA) and master's degrees (MA) in history from the St. Stephen's College at the University of Delhi.[3]

Career

As an IAS officer

Das served in various positions for both the Government of India and the Government of Tamil Nadu, like as Principal Secretary (Industries), Special Commissioner (Revenue), Secretary (Revenue), Secretary (Commercial Taxes), the project director of Tamil Nadu State AIDS Control Society and as the district magistrate and collector of Dindigul and Kancheepuram districts in the Tamil Nadu government;[1][3] and as Union Economic Affairs Secretary, Union Revenue Secretary, Union Fertilizers Secretary, special secretary in the Department of Economic Affairs of the Ministry of Finance and as a joint secretary in the Department of Expenditure of the Ministry of Finance in the Indian government.[1][3]

Das also had a stint with Mahindra Industrial Park Ltd (Mahindra World City), on deputation to a private sector company under Rule 6(2)(ii) of the Indian Administrative Service (Cadre) Rules, 1954.[3][4]

Das (left) with the United States ambassador to India Richard Verma (right) on the signing of FATCA in New Delhi on 9 July 2015

Revenue Secretary

Das was appointed Union Revenue Secretary by the prime minister-led-Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) in June 2014,[5][6][7] he assumed the office of Secretary on 16 June 2014,[3] and demitted it on 31 August 2015.[3]

Das (right) with Minister of Finance Arun Jaitley (centre) and the president of Confederation of Indian Industry Naushad Forbes (left)

Economic Affairs Secretary

Das was appointed Union Economic Affairs Secretary by the ACC in August 2014,[8][9][10] he assumed the office of Secretary on 31 August 2015,[3][10] and admitted it and simultaneously superannuated from service on 28 May 2017,[3][10] after being given a three-month extension by the government.[11][12][13]

During his tenure as Union Economic Affairs Secretary, Das was widely regarded as one of the most powerful civil servants in India.[14][15]

Post retirement

Post his retirement from the IAS, Das was appointed a member of the Fifteenth Finance Commission by the ACC.[16][17][18][19] In addition, he was appointed as India's Sherpa to the G20 by the ACC.[20][21][22] In December 2018, on his appointment as the governor of the Reserve Bank of India, Das resigned from his position in the Fifteenth Finance Commission.[23]

Governor of Reserve Bank of India

Das was appointed Governor of the Reserve Bank of India by the ACC on 11 December 2018 for a period of three years, replacing Urjit Patel who had resigned the day before.[24][25][26]

Das' appointment as RBI governor received mostly positive responses,[27][28][29][30] with DBS Bank's head of markets for India at Singapore, Ashish Vaidya, saying that previous governors of the RBI with an IAS background, such as Y. Venugopal Reddy and Duvvuri Subbarao, had been successful and that Das' "cordial relations with the government [...] [would] likely help policy negotiations."[27] S. S. Mundra, a former deputy governor of the RBI, said Das was a "good and balanced choice" for RBI governorship and had "a good understanding of the whole of the financial sector both from the ministry and also in his interactions with the RBI."[28] A former Governor of the Reserve Bank of India C. Rangarajan, said Das had "experience in economic affairs" and would "make a good governor".[29] Gaurav Shah, a senior vice president at Geojit Financial Services, said "a name like Shaktikanta Das carries track record, experience, credentials, credibility and respect along with him."[28]

On the other hand, Nobel laureate and professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Abhijit Banerjee, said Das' appointment posed a lot of "frightening" questions on governance of autonomous public institutions.[30] Subramanian Swamy, a member of the Bharatiya Janata Party, the largest party of the ruling National Democratic Alliance coalition, and a nominated member of the Rajya Sabha (Council of the States), criticised Das, calling him a "corrupt person" at an event at the Indian School of Business in Hyderabad.[31][32]

Das assumed charge as RBI governor on 12 December 2018.[33][34][35] Reactions of the markets to Das' appointment was positive, with BSE SENSEX gaining 629 points and NIFTY 50 increasing by 188 points.[36][37][38][39]

As RBI governor, Das serves as the ex-officio chairperson of the Monetary Policy Committee of the central bank.[40][41]

References
  1. Siddharta; Gupta, Surojit (12 December 2018). "Shaktikanta Das: A budget veteran comes to Mint Street". The Times of India. New Delhi: Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd. OCLC 23379369. Retrieved 12 December 2018.
  2. Dharmendra Pradhan [@dpradhanbjp] (26 March 2017). "Attended the alumni function of DM school, BBSR. Felicitated Sh @DasShaktikanta, Secretary Govt of India & a proud alumni of the school" (Tweet). Retrieved 12 December 2018 – via Twitter.
  3. "Shaktikanta Das – Executive Record Sheet". Department of Personnel and Training, Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions, Government of India. Retrieved 16 December 2018.
  4. "The Indian Administrative Service (Cadre) rules, 1954" (PDF). Department of Personnel and Training, Government of India. 1954. Retrieved 13 August 2017.
  5. "Shaktikanta Das appointed as Revenue Secretary". Business Standard. New Delhi. 16 June 2014. Retrieved 15 January 2018.
  6. Sinha, Shishir (14 June 2014). "Shaktikanta Das appointed as Revenue Secretary". Business Line. New Delhi: The Hindu Group. ISSN 0971-7528. OCLC 456162874. Retrieved 15 January 2018.
  7. "Shaktikanta Das takes charge as revenue secretary". Livemint. New Delhi: HT Media Ltd. 16 June 2014. Retrieved 15 January 2018.
  8. "Shaktikanta Das appointed Economic Affairs Secretary; Hasmukh Adhia is new Revenue Secretary". The Economic Times. New Delhi. 29 August 2015. Retrieved 15 January 2018.
  9. "Das is new economic affairs secy, Hasmukh Adhia revenue secretary". The Indian Express. New Delhi. Express News Service. 29 August 2015. OCLC 70274541. Retrieved 15 January 2018.
  10. "Shaktikanta Das Takes Charge as Economic Affairs Secretary". NDTV. New Delhi. 2 September 2015. Retrieved 15 January 2018.
  11. "DEA Secretary Shaktikanta Das gets 3-month extension". The Hindu. New Delhi. 23 January 2017. Retrieved 15 January 2018.
  12. "DEA Secretary Shaktikanta Das gets 3-month extension". Business Standard. New Delhi. 23 January 2017. Retrieved 15 January 2018.
  13. "Govt extends Economic Affairs Secretary Shaktikanta Das' tenure by 3 months". The Economic Times. New Delhi. 24 January 2017. Retrieved 15 January 2018.
  14. Unnithan, Sandeep (13 April 2017). "The game changers". India Today. ISSN 0254-8399. Retrieved 11 December 2018.
  15. "The crack team: Those who made GST a reality - Shaktikanta Das, Former Revenue and Economic Affairs Secretary". The Economic Times. The Times Group. 1 July 2017. OCLC 61311680. Retrieved 11 December 2018.
  16. "N.K. Singh heads 15th Finance Commission, Shaktikanta Das a member". Business Standard. New Delhi. 27 November 2017. Retrieved 15 January 2018.
  17. "NK Singh appointed Chairman of 15th Finance Commission". Business Line. New Delhi: The Hindu. 27 November 2017. Retrieved 15 January 2018.
  18. "N.K. Singh appointed chairman of 15th Finance Commission". Livemint. New Delhi: HT Media Ltd. 27 November 2017. Retrieved 15 January 2018.
  19. "Former Planning Commission Member NK Singh Appointed 15th Finance Commission Chairman". NDTV. New Delhi. 28 November 2017. Retrieved 15 January 2018.
  20. "Former DEA secretary Shaktikanta Das confirmed as G-20 sherpa". Business Standard. New Delhi. 28 November 2017. Retrieved 15 January 2018.
  21. "Shaktikanta Das appointed India's G20 Sherpa until December 31, 2018". The Financial Express. New Delhi. 27 November 2017. Retrieved 15 January 2018.
  22. "Shaktikanta Das appointed as India's G20 Sherpa. On 12th December, 2018, he has been appointed as the 25th Governor of the Reserve Bank of India for a period of three years". The Times of India. New Delhi. 27 November 2017. Retrieved 15 January 2018.
  23. "Acceptance of resignation of Shri Shaktikanta Das-Member, FFC" (PDF). Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance, Government of India. 11 December 2018. Retrieved 16 December 2018.
  24. Prasad, Gireesh Chandra; Ghosh, Shayan; Gopakumar, Gopika (11 December 2018). "Shaktikanta Das, who oversaw demonetization, is new RBI governor". Livemint. New Delhi/Mumbai: Vivek Khanna. Retrieved 12 December 2018.
  25. "Shaktikanta Das Is New RBI Governor". BloombergQuint. BQ Desk. 11 December 2018. Retrieved 11 December 2018.CS1 maint: others (link)
  26. "Shaktikanta Das: The man behind GST, note ban now heads RBI". The Economic Times. ET Online. The Times Group. 11 December 2018. OCLC 61311680. Retrieved 11 December 2018.CS1 maint: others (link)
  27. Das, Saikat (11 December 2018). "How Shaktikanta Das may aid regain overseas investor confidence". The Economic Times. Mumbai: The Times Group. OCLC 61311680. Retrieved 12 December 2018.
  28. Kurup, Krishna V.; Thomas, Chris; Monnappa, Chandini; Dasgupta, Neha (11 December 2018). Miglani, Sanjeev; Ravikumar, Sai Sachin (eds.). "Expert Views: India appoints Shaktikanta Das as RBI governor". Reuters. Bengaluru/New Delhi. Reuters. Retrieved 12 December 2018.
  29. "'Shaktikanta Das handled all his assignments well'". The Hindu. Special Correspondent. Chennai: N. Ram. 11 December 2018. ISSN 0971-751X. OCLC 13119119. Retrieved 12 December 2018.CS1 maint: others (link)
  30. "MIT economist Abhijit Banerjee flays government in appointing Shaktikanta Das as RBI Governor". The Financial Express. Press Trust of India. 11 December 2018. OCLC 30000665. Retrieved 12 December 2018.
  31. "RBI chief Saktikanta Das 'corrupt', says Swamy". The Telegraph. Hyderabad. Press Trust of India. 23 December 2018. OCLC 271717941. Retrieved 24 December 2018.
  32. "Subramanian Swamy claims new RBI governor Shaktikanta Das is a 'corrupt person'". Scroll.in. Scroll Staff. 23 December 2018. Retrieved 24 December 2018.CS1 maint: others (link)
  33. Kaul, Vivek (12 December 2018). "RBI governor Shaktikanta Das takes charge: Seen as a safe bet by govt, new chief of Mint Street starts on a weak wicket". Firstpost. Network 18. Retrieved 12 December 2018.
  34. "Shaktikanta Das takes charge as 25th Governor of the RBI". The Economic Times. ET Online. The Times Group. 12 December 2018. OCLC 61311680. Retrieved 12 December 2018.CS1 maint: others (link)
  35. "Shaktikanta Das Takes Charge As 25th RBI Governor". BloombergQuint. BQ Desk. 12 December 2018. Retrieved 12 December 2018.CS1 maint: others (link)
  36. "Markets end higher as new RBI chief takes charge, Sensex surges 629 points". The Times of India. TIMESOFINDIA.COM. New Delhi: Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd. 12 December 2018. OCLC 23379369. Retrieved 12 December 2018.CS1 maint: others (link)
  37. "Closing bell: Sensex surges 629 points, Nifty above 10,700 after RBI chief appointment". Livemint. Livemint. Mumbai: Vivek Khanna. 12 December 2018. Retrieved 12 December 2018.CS1 maint: others (link)
  38. "Sensex, Nifty post biggest 1-day gain in 5 weeks; here are 3 key reasons behind surge". The Financial Express. FE Online. 12 December 2018. OCLC 30000665. Retrieved 12 December 2018.CS1 maint: others (link)
  39. "Who is the new RBI Governor". December 2018.
  40. "Newly appointed deputy governor to look after RBI's monetary policy division". Livemint. Mumbai: Vivek Khanna. Press Trust of India. 15 January 2020. Retrieved 16 January 2020.
  41. "RBI appoints ED Janak Raj as member of MPC". The Economic Times. Mumbai. Press Trust of India. 29 January 2020. ISSN 0013-0389. OCLC 61311680. Retrieved 3 April 2020.
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