This article will provide you a List of RBI Governors Till Date, their names, and the duration they have served in the Reserve Bank of India.
Knowing the RBI governors is an important aspect of preparing for competitive exams such as UPSC, bank exams, and government exams. The RBI governors list is a static General Knowledge topic in the UPSC syllabus.
The Reserve bank of India is responsible to govern the monetary policy of the country. The Reserve bank of India (RBI) was established on 1st April 1935, under the 1935 RBI Act with the recommendation of the “Hilton – Young Commission”. RBI’s headquarters were initially in Kolkata but moved to Mumbai in 1937. The head of RBI, known as the governor, is appointed by the Government of India. So far RBI has had 25 governors. The first governor of RBI was Osborne Smith in 1935, and the current governor is Shaktikanta Das.
List of RBI Governors Till Date (1935-2023)
The RBI Governors List from 1935 to 2023 is as mentioned below:
|SL No.||RBI Governors Names||Time Period 1935-2023|
|1||Sir Osborne Smith||April 1, 1935 – June 30, 1937|
|2||Sir James Braid Taylor||July 1, 1937 – February 17, 1943|
|3||Sir C.D. Deshmukh||August 11, 1943 – June 30, 1949|
|4||Sir Bengal Rama Rau||July 1, 1949 – January 14, 1957|
|5||K.G. Ambegaonkar||January 14, 1957 – February 28, 1957|
|6||H.V.R Lyengar||March 1, 1957 – February 28, 1962|
|7||P.C Bhattacharya||March 1, 1962 – June 30, 1967|
|8||L.K. Jha||July 1, 1967 – May 3, 1970|
|9||B.N. Adarkar||May 4, 1970 – June 15, 1970|
|10||S. Jagannathan||June 16, 1970 – May 19, 1975|
|11||N.C. Sen Gupta||May 19, 1975 – August 19, 1975|
|12||K.R. Puri||August 20, 1975 – May 2, 1977|
|13||M. Narasimham||May 3, 1977 – November 30, 1977|
|14||Dr. I.G. Patel||December 1, 1977 – September 15, 1982|
|15||Manmohan Singh||September 16, 1982 – January 14, 1985|
|16||Amitav Gosh||January 15, 1985 – September 4, 1985|
|17||R.N. Malhotra||February 4, 1985 – December 22, 1990|
|18||S. Vpnldraramanan||December 22, 1990 – December 21, 1992|
|19||C. Rangarajan||December 22, 1992 – November 21, 1997|
|20||Bimal Jalan||November 22, 1997 – September 6, 2003|
|21||Y.V. Reddy||September 6, 2003 – September 5, 2008|
|22||D. Subbarao||September 5, 2008 – September 4, 2013|
|23||Raghu ram G. Raj an||September 4, 2013 – September 4, 2016|
|24||Urjit Ravindra Patel||September 4, 2016 – December 10,2018|
|25||Shaktikanta Das||December 12, 2018 – to date|
Who appointed the RBI governor?
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor is appointed by the President of India, based on the recommendation of a committee constituted by the Indian government. The committee considers various factors such as experience, expertise and reputation of the candidates before making its recommendation to the President. The appointment of the RBI Governor is a crucial decision that affects the country’s monetary and financial stability, and hence it is considered carefully by the government and the committee.
RBI Governor Eligibility
The RBI Act doesn’t mention any specific qualification for the Governor. Initially, RBI Governors were a part of Indian Civil services like C D Deshmukh, Bengal Rama Rao etc. But a be governor of RBI it is necessary to have knowledge of financial or economic strategies.
RBI Governor Duties
The role of the RBI governor includes:
- Formulating and implementing monetary policy
- Regulating the supply of money in the economy
- Overseeing the banking sector and ensuring financial stability
- Acting as the regulator for the country’s payment and settlement systems
- Managing foreign exchange and international reserves
- Promoting financial literacy and inclusion
- Representing India in international forums and negotiations on economic and monetary issues.
RBI Governor Powers
- Setting interest rates: The RBI governor has the power to set benchmark interest rates, such as the repo rate and the reverse repo rate, to influence the cost of borrowing and the availability of credit.
- Regulating banks: The RBI governor has the power to regulate and supervise banks to ensure their stability and adherence to prudential norms and regulations.
- Controlling the money supply: The RBI governor can control the money supply by using instruments like open market operations, bank rate policy, and reserve requirements.
- Licensing new banks: The RBI governor has the power to grant licenses for the establishment of new banks in the country.
- Promoting financial stability: The RBI governor can take measures to promote financial stability, such as directing banks to provide adequate credit to specific sectors or imposing restrictions on loan disbursals in certain areas.
- Representing India internationally: The RBI governor represents India in international forums and negotiations on monetary and financial issues, promoting the country’s interests and financial stability.
RBI Governors Tenure
The term of office of the RBI Governor is normally three years, but may be extended at the discretion of the Government of India. The Governor can be terminated in two cases and they are as follows:
- Resignation is submitted.
- If dismissed by the President.
List of RBI Governors Till Date (1935 to 2022)- FAQs
Q.1. How many governors are there in RBI?
Q.2. Who is the 26 governor of RBI?
Q.3. Who is the 1st RBI governor?
Sir Osborne Smith
Q.4. Who is present governor of RBI ?
Q.5. Who is present governor of RBI 2023?