Reserve Bank Governor Shaktikanta Das
Former Governor Raghuram Rajan was awarded this title for the first time in 2015 on behalf of the country.
Reserve Bank Governor Shaktikanta Das was on Wednesday honored with the ‘Governor of the Year’ award for 2023 by international publication Central Banking for captaining the financial markets through turbulent times of the pandemic and the severe impact of the Ukraine war.
Former Governor Raghuram Rajan was awarded this title for the first time in 2015 on behalf of the country.
Giving the award to 66-year-old Das, who is in his second term at Mint Road, the publication said the governor helped steer the ship as he faced several hurdles since his appointment in December 2019 amid the Covid-19 pandemic. The pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine war are two major tests.
A complex economy like India’s can never be free from challenges, but as Das faces the remainder of his second term, he can be proud of the major achievements so far,” the award citation said.
Das has captained significant reforms, overseen world-leading payments innovation and steered the country through difficult times with a steady hand and well-crafted turns of phrase.
Central Banking Publishing is a financial publisher specializing in public policy and financial markets, with an emphasis on central banks and international financial institutions.
Addressing the award ceremony, Das said, “A war effort to combat the virus has to be launched and is being scaled up, involving both conventional and unconventional measures, in a battle-ready mode.
“Life in the time of Covid-19 has been one of unprecedented loss and isolation. Nevertheless, it is worth remembering that tough times never last; Only tough people and tough institutions do.” The publication said the Indian economy came through one of the biggest threats it has faced with relatively minimal losses.
All RBI governors face the difficulty of working with governments that have different priorities from the central bank, and most must navigate crises during their tenure. But few have faced challenges of the scale Das has met, it said, adding that in the years ahead, Das will have to stand firm against interference and backsliding.
The publication said that the RBI, since the turn of the pandemic, has been actively engaged in managing the benchmark lending rate and other levers at its disposal.
The Monetary Policy Committee, to begin with, has raised key policy rates by 250 bps to 6.50 per cent through May 2022 as the panel missed the inflation print in 10 of the 12 months of the year. This forced Das to write to the government explaining why it had lost the battle of inflation. The letter is yet to be made public.
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(This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from a syndicated news agency feed)
