Shaktikanta Das, the outgoing governor of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), thanked ‘Team RBI’ in his farewell message ahead of formally demitting office on Tuesday. Das, expressed gratitude to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, and the central bank team on his last day in office. Das is being succeeded by Sanjay Malhotra, a career civil servant and the current revenue secretary in the finance ministry. Malhotra will assume the role of RBI Governor for a three-year term, amid earlier speculation of a possible extension for Das.
"Immensely grateful to the Hon’ble PM @narendramodi for giving me this opportunity to serve the country as Governor RBI and for his guidance and encouragement. Benefited a lot from his ideas and thoughts," he said. Das also highlighted his working relationship with Sitharaman, and said, “The fiscal-monetary coordination was at its best and helped us deal with the multiple challenges during the last six years.” In a series of tweets, Das extended his thanks to various stakeholders, including financial sector participants, economists, industry bodies, and agriculture and service sector organisations, for their contributions and suggestions.
He also expressed gratitude to the entire RBI team, saying, “Together, we successfully navigated an exceptionally difficult period of unprecedented global shocks. May the RBI grow even taller as an institution of trust and credibility.” Das took over as the 25th Governor of the RBI in December 2018, during a challenging time marked by economic and financial sector pressures. His leadership is widely recognised for bringing stability and steering India’s economy through turbulent periods, including the COVID-19 pandemic, geopolitical tensions, and high inflation.