NEW DELHI: The Centre on Tuesday appointed noted Odia economist Michael Debabrata Patra as Deputy Governor of the Reserve Bank of India. He is one among four Deputy Governors of the RBI and will be posted for the next three years.
The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet selected Patra, an executive director in the Monetary Policy Department of the RBI, from seven names shortlisted by the Financial Sector Regulatory Appointment Search Committee (FSRASC).
With Patra, now three economists from Odisha are holding top posts of RBI. While RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das is from Cuttack, another Deputy Governor Bibhu Prasad Kanungo belongs to Kendrapara district.
A native of Cuttack, Patra was elevated for the post, which was lying vacant after former Deputy Governor Viral Acharya resigned in June last year, six months before the end of his term in office. Viewed as a monetary policy hawk, he is likely to retain the Monetary Policy Department earlier handled by Acharya.
An alumnus of Ravenshaw College and Utkal University, Patra had joined RBI in 1985. He moved to Monetary Policy Department in March 2006 as advisor-in-charge. He has done his PhD in economics from IIT, Mumbai and is a Harvard University fellow in financial stability.
Before moving to the Monetary Policy Department, he was an adviser in the Department of Economic Analysis and Policy in charge of international finance, money and banking. He has served in various capacities in the RBI.
A central banker with over 30 years of experience, he had received professional training at the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Institute on Financial Programming and Policy and at the Centre for Central Banking Studies, Bank of England.
He has also served as senior adviser to Executive Director for Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, and Sri Lanka at the IMF. His research papers have been published in many national and international journals.