Shaktikanta Das: After Raghuram Rajan, another RBI governor with a Tamil connection

The 61-year-old was appointed as the new RBI governor on Tuesday evening after the unexpected exit of Urjit Patel from the post.

Shaktikanta Das | File Photo-EPS 

Shaktikanta Das has been appointed as the 25^th Governor of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) after the sudden resignation of Urjit Patel from the post. Here are seven things to know about the 61-year-old former IAS officer.

1. As a member of the 15^th Finance Commission, he was India’s Sherpa at the recent G-20 summit in Buenos Aires. (A Sherpa is a representative of a head of government or state who lays the groundwork for a summit.)
2. A native of Odisha, he graduated in BA (history), followed by a Masters in the same subject before joining the Indian Administrative Service as a Tamil Nadu cadre officer in 1980. He is fluent in Tamil.
3. He served as district magistrate in Kancheepuram and Dindigul districts before holding key positions such as Principal Secretary (Industries), Special Commissioner (Revenue), Secretary (Revenue), Secretary (Commercial Taxes) and project director of the State AIDS Control Society in the Tamil Nadu government.
4. His first stint with the central government came in 2008 when he was appointed Joint Secretary (Expenditure). He was later posted as Additional Secretary (Economic Affairs) in 2011, Secretary (Fertilizers) in 2013 and Secretary (Revenue) in 2014.
5. His took up his next assignment as Revenue Secretary till his resignation in August 2015. He was appointed Economic Affairs Secretary in August 2016, a position he held till his retirement in August 2017.
6. Das also had a stint with Mahindra Industrial Park Ltd. (Mahindra World City) as Joint Secretary on deputation to a private sector company from 1998 to 2001.
7. As the economic affairs secretary during the 2016 demonetisation, he was a strong advocate of the move.​