MUMBAI: New RBI Governor Sanjay Malhotra on Wednesday said the central bank will maintain continuity an stability in policy matters, but emphasised on the need to remain "alert and agile" in the wake of the current global economic and political environment.
Earlier in the day, he took charge as the 26th Governor of the Reserve Bank, replacing Shaktikanta Das who demitted office after six years.
"As we have to be conscious of the fact that we do maintain continuity and stability, we cannot be stuck to it, and we have to be alert and agile to meet challenges," Malhotra said in his first interaction as Governor with media.
The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet, a high-level a high-level committee in the Government of India that appoints senior officials to the central government and public sector undertakings, had on Monday appointed Malhotra as the 26th Governor of RBI. The appointment of Malhotra, who was the Revenue Secretary, is for a three-year term, and this decision was taken after the government decided against giving a further extension to Shaktikanta Das who helmed the central bank from December 12, 2018 to December 10, 2024.
Das left office on Tuesday and was not present at the RBI headquarters for a formal handover ceremony, which used to be the custom.
“It’s an honour as well as a huge responsibility to head an august institution like the Reserve Bank. I will continue to uphold the legacy of the RBI, a 90-year-old institution," said Malhotra while refusing to take questions from the press, saying this is his first day in office; let me get grip of the job.
“I don’t intend to make any statements pertaining to this august institution. It’s an honour to head this prestigious institution and more than honour it’s a huge responsibility,' said Malhotra. “I will uphold the RBI legacy and take it forward,” he added.
He said he believes that one of the most important roles of the central bank is to spread financial inclusion by deepening and expanding it further.
"How we are going to be able to use technology to reduce cost to make financial inclusion more accessible and all pervasive is one pillar we will work on. For this, innovation is key and we have to be conscious of the risks they entail. We need to be conscious that we do not have monopoly of all knowledge; information and expertise is available outside as well, internationally and nationally. Consultation is another key pillar for policy-making," he said.
Malhotra is the second consecutive career civil servant to take charge of the central bank. Prior this appointment he was revenue secretary and before that headed a host of departments in Rajasthan and then in Delhi.
The 56-year-old Malhotra is a 1990-batch IAS officer of the Rajasthan cadre and had earlier worked as the chairman and managing director of state-run Rural Electrification Corporation and had been instrumental towards achieving the recent buoyancy in tax collections. The new RBI governor is a topper from IIT-Kanpur where he did computer science and has a master's in public policy from Princeton University, US.
In his brief statement, Malhotra also stressed that the central bank will continue to interact with all segments, including financial regulators, state governments and the Centre, to continue the Reserve Bank's legacy.
"We do not have monopoly of all knowledge," he said, while stressing on the importance of wide consultations with other stakholders.
The former revenue secretary emphasised that RBI will extensively use technology to further promote financial inclusion.