The Governor of the Reserve Bank of India’s list of rbi governors exploits all the powers and fulfills all the responsibilities the same as the Chief Executive Officer should in an organization. He also acts as chairperson of its Central Board of Directors. Indian Rupee currency notes, issued by the Reserve Bank of India, bear the signature of the governor. The Governor of the Reserve Bank of India is also a member of the Strategic Policy Group headed by National Security Advisor Ajit Doval. It is a crucial wing of the National Security Council.
The term of office generally runs for three years and can, in some cases, be extended for two years. Below we have provided a list of RBI Governers with a brief description of them.
1. Sir Osborne Smith
Term Start
01-04-1935
Term End
30-06-1937
Days in Office
821 Days
Sir Osborne Smith was appointed as the First Governor of the Reserve Bank. He was a Professional Banker having experience of 30 years.
2. Sir James Braid Taylor
Term Start
01-07-1937
Term End
17-02-1943
Days in Office
2057 Days
Sir James Braid Taylor was a member of the Indian Civil Service and had an experience of over 10 years. He was associated with the preparation of the Reserve Bank of India Bill. Bank went through the war years and the financial experiments during his tenure.
3. Sir C. D. Deshmukh
Term Start
11-08-1943
Term End
30-06-1949
Days in Office
2150 Days
Sir C. D. Deshmukh was a member of the Indian Civil Service and the first Indian Governor of the Bank. He saw the transition to Independence and the partition of the country and the division of the assets and liabilities of the Reserve Bank between India and Pakistan.
4. Sir Benegal Rama Rau
Term Start
01-07-1949
Term End
14-01-1957
Days in Office
2754 Days
Sir Benegal Rama Rau was a member of the Indian Civil Service and was the longest-serving Governor of the Bank.
5. Shri K. G. Ambegaonkar
Term Start
14-01-1957
Term End
28-02-1957
Days in Office
45 Days
Shri K. G. Ambegaonkar was a member of the Indian Civil Service. On the resignation of B. Rama Rau, he was appointed as the interim Governor till Shri H V R Iyengar could take over.
6. Shri H. V. R. Iyengar
Term Start
01-03-1957
Term End
28-02-1962
Days in Office
1825 Days
Shri H.V.R. Iyengar was also a member of the Indian Civil Service. In his tenure, India shifted to decimal coinage from the earlier system and conscious efforts were made to consolidate the banking industry.
7. Shri P. C. Bhattacharya
Term Start
01-03-1962
Term End
30-06-1967
Days in Office
1947days
Shri P. C. Bhattacharya was a member of the Indian Audit and Account Service. Before their appointment as Governor, he served as Secretary in the Finance Ministry, and as Chairman of the State Bank of India. The rupee was devalued in 1966 during his tenure.
8. Shri Lakshmi Kant Jha
Term Start
01-07-1967
Term End
03-05-1970
Days in Office
1037 Days
Shri Lakshmi Kant Jha was a member of the Indian Civil Service. Before their appointment as Governor, he served as Secretary to the Prime Minister. During his tenure, 14 major commercial banks were nationalized in 1969.
9. Shri B. N. Adarkar
Term Start
04-05-1970
Term End
15-06-1970
Days in Office
42 Days
B.N. Adarkar held the post of Governor for 42 days till S Jagannathan could take over as Governor. Being a professional economist, he served as an Economic Adviser of the Government of India for many years.
10. Shri Sarukkai Jagannathan
Term Start
16-06-1970
Term End
19-05-1975
Days in Office
1798 Days
Shri Sarukkai Jagannathan was a member of the Indian Civil Service. Before their appointment as Governor, he had served with the Central Government and thereafter as India’s Executive Director at the World Bank.
11. Shri N. C. Sen Gupta
Term Start
19-05-1975
Term End
19-08-1975
Days in Office
92 Days
Shri N.C. Sen Gupta was appointed Governor for just 92 days till K.R. Puri could assume office.
12. Shri K. R. Puri
Term Start
20-08-1975
Term End
02-05-1977
Days in Office
621 Days
Before his appointment as Governor, he served as the Chairman and Managing Director of the Life Insurance Corporation of India. Regional Rural Banks were set up; the Asian Clearing Union commenced operations; the twenty-point economic program was announced and operationalized and a new money supply series was introduced during his tenure.
13. Shri M. Narasimham
Term Start
02-05-1977
Term End
30-11-1977
Days in Office
211 Days
He was the first and so far the only Governor to be appointed from the Reserve Bank cadre, having joined the Bank as a Research Officer in the Economics Department.
14. Dr. I. G. Patel
Term Start
01-12-1977
Term End
15-09-1982
Days in Office
1749 Days
Dr. I G Patel an economist and administrator joined the Reserve Bank as Governor after serving as Secretary in the Ministry of Finance and thereafter at the UNDP. His tenure witnessed the demonetization of high denomination notes as well as the “gold auctions” conducted by the Bank on behalf of the Government of India.
15. Dr. Manmohan Singh
Term Start
16-09-1982
Term End
14-01-1985
Days in Office
851 Days
Dr. Manmohan Singh, academic and administrator, had served as Secretary of Finance as well as Member Secretary of the Planning Commission before his appointment as Governor. During his tenure, comprehensive legal reforms were carried out related to the banking sector. Later he was appointed as Finance Minister and Prime Miniter of India.
16. Shri Amitav Ghosh
Term Start
15-01-1985
Term End
04-02-1985
Days in Office
20 Days
A Ghosh was appointed Governor for a brief period of 15 days till R N Malhotra could take over.
17. Shri R. N. Malhotra
Term Start
04-02-1985
Term End
22-12-1990
Days in Office
2147 Days
R.N. Malhotra, a member of the Indian Administrative Service, served as Secretary, Finance, and Executive Director of the IMF before his appointment as Governor. Money market development and new instruments were introduced during his tenure.
18. Shri S. Venkitaramanan
Term Start
22-12-1990
Term End
21-12-1992
Days in Office
730 Days
S Venkitaramanan was a member of the Indian Administrative Service. He had served as Finance Secretary and adviser to the Government of Karnataka. His management saw the country tide over the balance of payments crisis.
19. Dr. C. Rangarajan
Term Start
22-12-1992
Term End
21-11-1997
Days in Office
1795 Days
Dr. C Rangarajan was a professional economist. Prior to his appointment as the Governor, he held charge as Deputy Governor for over 10 years. His tenure saw unprecedented central bank activism to put in place a comprehensive set of measures to strengthen and improve the competitive efficiency of the financial sector.
20. Dr. Bimal Jalan
Term Start
22-11-1997
Term End
06-09-2003
Days in Office
2114 Days
Dr. Bimal Jalan served as Chief Economic Advisor to the Government of India, Banking Secretary, Finance Secretary, Member Secretary of the Planning Commission, and Chairman of the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister before being appointed as Governor. He had also represented India on the Executive Boards of the IMF and the World Bank. During his tenure, India weathered the Asian Crisis and has seen the consolidation of the gains of liberalization and economic reforms.
21. Dr. Y V Reddy
Term Start
06-09-2003
Term End
05-09-2008
Days in Office
1826 Days
Dr. Yaga Venugopal Reddy a member of the Indian Administrative Service. He served as Secretary (Banking) in the Ministry of Finance and had a six-year tenure as Deputy Governor of the Reserve Bank of India. Prior to his appointment as the Governor, Dr. Reddy also represented India as Executive Director on the Board of the IMF.
22. Dr. D. Subbarao
Term Start
05-09-2008
Term End
04-09-13
(close of business)
Days in Office
1825 Days
Dr. Subbarao was the Finance Secretary in the Ministry of Finance, Government of India prior to his appointment as Governor.
23. Dr. Raghuram Rajan
Term Start
04-09-2013
Term End
04-09-2016
Days in Office
1096 Days
Prior to this, he was the Chief Economic Advisor, at the Ministry of Finance, Government of India, and the Chief Economist and Director of Research at the International Monetary Fund.
24. Dr. Urjit R. Patel
Term Start
04-09-2016
Term End
11-12-2018
Days in Office
828 Days
Dr. Urjit R. Patel served as Deputy Governor. Representing India, he actively participated in steering the signing into force of the inter-governmental treaty and Agreements among the BRICS nations. Dr. Patel has also served at the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
25. Shri Shaktikanta Das
Term Start
12-12-2018
Term End
to Date
Days in Office
Shri Shaktikanta Das, IAS Retired., former Secretary, Department of Revenue and Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance, Government of India. Shri Shaktikanta Das has vast experience in various areas of governance in the last 38 years. During his long tenure in the Ministry of Finance, Government of India, he was directly associated with the preparation of as many as 8 Union Budgets.
