Who All Have Served As RBI Governors? Here's The Complete List For You To Know

Right from the day it was formed in 1935, India's central bank, the RBI, has grown the country¡¯s banking system from strength to strength, led by its governors.

In its 88-year history, the Reserve Bank of India has been headed by 25 governors, from India¡¯s former Prime Minister, Dr.Manmohan Singh, to the current RBI governor, Shri Shaktikanta Das.

From acting as a banker to the government to regulating and monitoring currency circulation, the RBI plays a number of key roles for the economy, thus making the role of RBI governor even more crucial.

So let us look at the list of people who have held the post of RBI governor in the central bank¡¯s 88-year history.

List Of Reserve Bank of India Governors

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1.Sir Osborne Smith

1 April 1935¡ª30 June 1937

2.Sir James Taylor

1 July 1937¡ª17 February 1943

3.Sir C D Deshmukh

11 August 1943¡ª30 June 1949

4.Sir Benegal Rama Rau

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1 July 1949¡ª14 January 1957

5.K G Ambegaonkar

14 January 1957¡ª28 February 1957

6.H V R Lengar

1 March 1957¡ª28 February 1962

7.P C Bhattacharya

1 March 1962¡ª30 June 1967

8.L K Jha

1 July 1967¡ª3 May 1970

9.B N Adarkar

4 May 1970¡ª15 June 1970

10.S Jagannathan

dna

16 June 1970¡ª19 May 1975

11.N C Sen Gupta

19 May 1975¡ª19 August 1975

12.K R Puri

20 August 1975¡ª2 May 1977

13.M Narasimham

3 May 1977¡ª30 November 1977

14.Dr. I G Patel

1 December 1977¡ª15 September 1982

15.Dr. Manmohan Singh

BCCL

16 September 1982¡ª14 January 1985

16.A Ghosh

15 January 1985¡ª4 February 1985

17.R N Malhotra

4 February 1985¡ª22 December 1990

18.S Venkitaramanan

22 December 1990¡ª21 December 1992

19.Dr. C Rangarajan

22 December 1992¡ª21 November 1997

20.Dr. Bimal Jalan

22 November 1997¡ª6 September 2003

21.Dr. Y V Reddy

6 September 2003¡ª5 September 2008

22.Dr. D. Subbarao

5 September 2008¡ª4 September 2013

23.Dr. Raghuram Rajan

reuters

4 September 2013¡ª4 September 2016

24.Dr. Urjit R. Patel

4 September 2016¡ª10 December 2018

25.Shri Shaktikanta Das

businesstoday

12 December 2018¡ªPresent

Also Read: Five Times The RBI Has Withdrawn Or Demonetised Indian Currency Notes In The Past

More About RBI's First Governor

Sir Osborne Smith was the first governor of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). He was born on December 26, 1876, and died on August 30, 1952.

A professional banker, he served for over 20 years with the Bank of New South Wales and 10 years with the Commonwealth Bank of Australia before coming to India in 1926 as a Managing Governor of the Imperial Bank of India.

As per the RBI, Smith's stewardship of the Imperial Bank won him recognition in banking circles in India. However, his outlook on policy issues like exchange rates and interest rates was at variance with that of the government. He resigned prior to the completion of his term of office of three and a half years.

How Is RBI Governor Appointed?

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The RBI governor is appointed by the Prime Minister¡¯s Office (PMO) on the recommendation of the union finance minister as per Section 8(1)(a) of the Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934.

The Financial Sector Regulatory Appointment Search Committee (FSRASC) usually holds the list of names of those who get interviewed for the RBI governor post.

Members of FSRASC include the cabinet secretary, RBI governor, financial services secretary, and two independent members.

The chosen name from the interviews usually gets sent to the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet, headed by the prime minister, for final approval. After the final nod from the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet, the appointment is confirmed.

The governor and not more than four deputy governors of the RBI are appointed by the central government under the RBI Act. The governor and deputy governors hold office for periods not exceeding five years. The term of the governor may be fixed by the government at the time of his appointment and can also be extended.

As per the RBI Act, the central bank should have four deputy governors, i.e. two from within the ranks, one commercial banker and an economist to head the monetary policy departmen.

Salaries and allowances of the governor and deputy governors may be determined by the central board, with the approval of the central government. You can click here to know more about how RBI governor is appointed.

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