The government has extended the term of Reserve Bank of India Governor Shaktikanta Das by another three years up to December 2024, according to an official order. Das was appointed the RBI's 25th Governor on December 11, 2018, initially for a period of three years. An official order dated October 28 said the government has reappointed Das as the Governor of the central bank for a period of three years beyond December 10, 2021.
The decision was taken by the Appointments Committee of Cabinet headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. In an order, it said: "The 'Appointments Committee of the Cabinet' has approved the reappointment of Shri Shaktikanta Das, lAS Retd. as Governor, Reserve Bank of India for a period of three years beyond December 10, 2021 or until further orders, whichever is earlier."
With the second term of three years, Das will head the RBI till December, 2024. Notably, Das had been credited with steering India's monetary policy response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Besides, industry observers credit him with swiftly rolling out policy measures to ease the economic impact of the pandemic. Holding key governance portfolios, Das also acted as the Member of the 15th Finance Commission and as the G20 Sherpa of India.
Earlier this month, the RBI retained the FY22 projection for real GDP growth at 9.5 per cent. RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das pointed out that GDP is expected to grow at 7.9 per cent in Q2, 6.8 per cent in Q3, 6.1 per cent in Q4 and 17.2 per cent in Q1FY23. On the inflation front, the RBI lowered FY22 retail inflation projection for the ongoing financial year to 5.3 per cent from the previous estimate of 5.7 per cent.
With PTI and IANS inputs